Research Papers

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Enhancing Sundarbans' early warning for disaster preparedness
Cultural adaptations to tropical cyclone warnings and impacts are crucial steps in limiting losses Posted on 11 Apr, 2023 10:32 AM

Due to its geographic location and low-lying coastal morphology, India's Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is extremely susceptible to cyclones and tidal surges. This deltaic region frequently sees cyclones that cause property damage and human casualties.

A woman searching for her utensils in debris of her house which collapsed after Cyclone Aila (Image: Anil Gulati, Wikimedia Commons)
Forests, water fountains of the skies
Forests greatly help in maintaining the water balance of nature by storing water during monsoons and making this water available during dry seasons. India urgently needs to save its forests to prevent droughts and the adverse effects of climate induced global warming. Posted on 04 Apr, 2023 11:30 AM

Forests world over are under threat.

Forests and soil moisture can act as buffers to store water during dry spells (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Tall and deep clouds will trigger intense spells of rain in India
This study finds that rainfall over the west coast of India is becoming more convective and creating sharp and intense rain spells over a short period of time. Posted on 31 Mar, 2023 07:30 PM

Extreme rainfall events in India can not only have a massive impact on the agricultural output, but also create havoc in urban areas of the country by affecting lives and livelihoods and destroying property and infrastructure. And India needs to be climate ready to deal with these in the future.

The changing monsoon in India (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Market value of treated wastewater will rise to rupees 1.9 billion in 2050
Only 10 states in India have treated wastewater reuse policies so far Posted on 29 Mar, 2023 07:26 PM

The market value of treated wastewater in India will be INR 830 million in 2025 and INR 1.9 billion in 2050 if we have the mechanism to sell it to select sectors, according to an independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Sewage treatment plant in Kavoor, Mangalore (Image: Asian Development Bank; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Jharkhand's agroforestry potential
Study identifies 513 out of 32,620 villages in Jharkhand as potentially suitable for agroforestry work Posted on 16 Mar, 2023 12:29 PM

In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including enhancing livelihood, decreasing poverty, preserving the environment and biodiversity, and reversing climate change, agroforestry areas should be expanded in a variety of ways.

Agroforestry crops need land with sufficient soil moisture and low erosion for their continuous growth (Image: World Agroforestry)
Water tankers help, but not “all” women
This study found that water tankers helped in coping with water scarcity and reducing the drudgery of women, but only those from the rich upper castes while reinforcing gender stereotypes. Posted on 07 Mar, 2023 12:11 PM

Accessing water for daily needs has culturally and socially been considered as gendered domestic work and the task of collecting water in rural areas where water is scarce and fetching water is extremely tedious and time consuming. 

Women carrying water in Rajasthan (Image Source: Christopher Michel via Wikimedia Commons)
Poisoned waters of Kashmir 
Indiscriminate use of pesticides has not only contaminated the freshwater resources in Kashmir valley, but also increased risks to human health. Posted on 27 Feb, 2023 03:15 PM

Pesticides and fertilisers have been used indiscriminately to increase crop yields and agricultural output in India and their excessive use has been feared to threaten human health as well as biodiversity through contamination of surface and groundwater resources. 

The Jhelum River flowing through Jammu to Kashmir, in India (Image Source: Bhoomikavinod via Wikimedia Commons)
Locally comprehensible and actionable forecasts
Uncovering knowledge and communication gaps in climate resilience realities - lessons from Indian Sundarbans Posted on 09 Feb, 2023 06:00 PM

A recent study dealing with the Indian Sundarbans, the cyclone capital of India,  uncovers how and why advances in scientific knowledge and technological developments are failing to enhance resilience of the marginal and vulnerable populations, instead continually unmaking their lived environments.

Broken houses of village in Gosaba Islands as water flooded their houses after Cyclone Aila struck this island in Sunderbans in West Bengal (Image: Anil Gulati/India Water Portal)
Study reveals Indian dams to lose 26% water storage capacity by 2050
Annually, the globally averaged losses amount to approximately 0.36% of initial global storage capacity. Posted on 08 Feb, 2023 05:13 PM

Reservoir sedimentation is often seen as a site-specific process and is usually assessed at an individual reservoir level. At the same time, it takes place everywhere in the world. However, estimates of storage losses globally are largely lacking.

Hirakud Dam is the longest dam in India (Image: India Water Portal)
Heavy metals poison Veeranam lake in Tamil Nadu
This study found large deposits of heavy metals in the tissues and organs of water birds, crabs and fish inhabiting the lake indicating heavy metal contamination of the lake waters. Posted on 25 Jan, 2023 02:26 PM

Wetlands in India, under threat!

A view of the Veeranam lake in Tamil Nadu (Image Source: Giri9703 via Wikimedia Commons)
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