-Down to Earth While last year, the state’s 14,679 villages were hit by drought, this time 20,000 villages are already facing drought-like conditions The Maharashtra government has identified 201 talukas in 32 districts that are facing water scarcity owing to deficient rainfall in the southwest monsoon season. As per a preliminary list of drought-affected areas, which is available with the Down To Earth, maximum drought-affected talukas are in Jalgaon district (13) followed by...
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natural disasters cost India $80 billion in 20 years: UN report -Pradeep Thakur
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Climate change is making development highly risky, particularly in lower-middle income countries like India. A study released by the UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Wednesday said India suffered economic losses of $80 billion during the 20-year period of 1998 to 2017. India has been ranked among world's top five countries in absolute economic losses. Globally, disaster losses during this period have been estimated...
More »Madhav Gadgil, noted ecologist, interviewed by Nidheesh MK (Livemint.com)
-Livemint.com Ecologist Madhav Gadgil, whose report on Western Ghats was rejected by the Kerala government, on what caused the Kerala floods and how the rebuilding process should be carried out Ernakulam (Kerala): Submitted seven years ago on 31 August 2011, ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s report on the biodiverse Western Ghats—a portion of which falls in Kerala—had warned that the combination of massive ecological destruction and extreme weather events trigger disaster. His words proved...
More »2015 Chennai floods a man-made disaster: CAG -B Aravind Kumar
-The Hindu Auditor’s report says indiscriminate discharge of water from Chembarambakkam lake burdened the Adyar river Chennai: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has been scathing in its criticism of the government’s handling of the Chennai floods of 2015, going so far as to categorise it as a “man- made disaster”. It has held the government of Tamil Nadu responsible for the scale of the catastrophe, which the latter had...
More »Delhi most vulnerable UT in India's first disaster risk index, Maharashtra leads states -Pradeep Thakur and Neeraj Chauhan
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A national disaster risk index mapping hazards and vulnerabilities across 640 districts puts Maharashtra at the top of the chart followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, while Delhi is most at risk among Union territories (UTs). At first glance, the lower hazard ranking to states like those in the north-east and others like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, which are prone to earthquakes or...
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