-The Indian Express A tussle is on between El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole. Government cannot afford to be a bystander. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that India will get deficient rains in 2015, likely to be 88 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of 89 cm, which is the average seasonal rain (June-September) received by the country in the 50 years between 1951 and 2000....
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Weather department downgrades monsoon forecast to 88%, stokes drought fears; govt 'prays'
-Hindustan Times India’s June-September monsoon, the lifeblood of Asia’s third-largest economy, will most likely be “deficient” this year with the met department downgrading its forecast from 93% to 88%, earth sciences minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) revision -- which had forecast “below normal” monsoon in April -- will potentially toughen challenges for the Narendra Modi government already battling a farm crisis triggered by unseasonal rains in...
More »When hunger doesn’t go on vacation -Ishita Mishra
-The Times of India AGRA: The Uttar Pradesh mid-day meal authority's decision to extend the vital service to students of 58 drought-hit districts even during the summer vacation has hit an unlikely roadblock: teachers. This in essence jeopardizes the well-being of lakhs of school-going children in districts declared 'drought-hit' in 2014. Many of these regions also bore the brunt of unseasonal rains in March, sparking a spate of suicides. The opposition, if...
More »India’s misunderstood rivers - Ananda Banerjee
-Livemint.com The mismanagement, abuse and displacement of water need to be addressed to solve the real crisis in front of us It’s the time of the year when everyone starts talking about the heat—how hot it was today and what it’s going to be like in the coming days. The forecast by the India Meteorological Department does not bring any comfort. Scientists are predicting a below-normal monsoon because of El Niño,...
More »In India, a devastating harvest season for northern farmers puts lives at risk -Ritu Sharma
-UCANews.com Some farmers mull abandoning generations of farming for more reliable jobs Devinder Bhardwaj was hoping for a bumper crop on his modest four-acre (1.6 hectare) plot of land. The profits from selling his wheat in the market, he hoped, would provide a much-needed injection to his family’s savings. But this year, unseasonal rains and hailstorms washed away his plans. “The whole crop was under water due to the rains. Not even a...
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