The year 2015 has seen a delayed winter and warm weather conditions in December all over northern and eastern India, with unseasonal rains thrown in. However, a year before in December 2014, a severe cold wave wreaked havoc across North India claiming 16 lives in Uttar Pradesh alone, taking the national death toll to 140. […]
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A heat wave is generally perceived as a period of abnormally hot weather. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), however, defines a heat wave as five or more consecutive days during which the daily maximum temperature exceeds the average maximum temperature by five degrees Celsius. How a heat wave is declared in India In India, scientists […]
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Climatic conditions and processes change over space and time. Nearly 70 per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans. Both land and oceans have different characteristics in terms of their heating and cooling capacities, resulting in differences in atmospheric pressure, temperature and relative humidity. In addition to the massive ice-sheets over the Arctic […]
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Two recent earthquakes struck Bihar in April and May 2015. The first of these occurred on April 25, 2015 at 11:56 am Nepal Standard Time (NST) at a depth of approximately 15 km. Initially reported as 7.5 moment magnitude (Mw) by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) it was quickly upgraded to 7.8 Mw minutes […]
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The Himalayan Region is one of the most active tectonic belts of the world with an active continent-continent collision boundary. Seismicity in this region primarily results from the movement and thrust of the Indian and Eurasian plates and the resulting collisions therein. The 25 April, 2015 earthquake that clocked 7.8 on the Richter scale occurred […]
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The Nepal earthquakes are a painful reminder for all of us that almost the entire South Asian population lies in harm’s way. Consider the fact that 80 per cent of India’s building stock is non-engineered. Even the balance stock is not necessarily capable of withstanding earthquakes of the magnitude that struck Nepal. While the risk […]
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Urban flooding is a rising phenomenon in recent times. Whether coastal or inland, flooding in an urban centre can cause grave damage owing to the high population density involved. Moreover, the capacity of Indian cities to withstand heavy rains has also weakened owing to land use changes and interference with natural watersheds. Thus, notwithstanding the […]
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Storm surges associated with severe tropical cyclones (TC) constitute the world’s worst marine hazard. An abnormal rise in sea level, a storm surge is caused by a TC moving over a continental shelf. The temporary rise of the sea level along the coast is in excess of the predicted astronomical tidal level. Storm surges are […]
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Cyclone Phailin crossed into Odisha and adjoining northern Andhra Pradesh near Gopalpur around 1700 UTC on October 12, 2013 with a maximum sustained wind speed of 215 kmph. Consequently 22 human lives were lost. This was in sharp contrast to 10,000 lives being lost in the October 29, 1999 Odisha Super Cyclone. Hence, a study […]
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After deforestation, forest fires are the most important cause of habitat destruction. Forest fires are worldwide seasonal occurrences, and can be prevented by adequate measures; they usually occur in the dry months from March to May in India when there is no rain and dry leaves and twigs litter the forest floor. Alerts are provided […]
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