-The Hindu In a democracy, it is important for government agencies to disseminate data in a timely manner After a delayed start, the Southwest Monsoon recently wreaked havoc in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other parts of India. In such a situation, a data journalist would have ideally looked for weekly comparisons of rainfall data across the affected States to determine when the rains began to intensify; historical data to determine how the...
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Rain fury this year deadlier than earlier, toll already over 1,000 -Pradeep Thakur
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Flood fury across much of India has already claimed 1,058 lives this Monsoon, close to last year’s overall toll of 1,211. Over 150 people have died in Kerala, the second-highest after Maharashtra (245 deaths), as it faces extraordinary damage with authorities being forced to release water from dams because of torrential rain. The flood death counts are increasing year on year: from 936 in 2016...
More »The perpetual El Nino -Jatin Singh
-The Telegraph Below-normal and drought are the new normal. Since 2012 there has only been one normal Monsoon. Monsoons follow their own patterns, unpredictable as they may be. In the past, certain periods, spanning a decade or sometimes two, have had higher frequencies of droughts and at the moment, we seem to be stuck in such a cycle. Between 1900 and the year 2000, there was one drought per decade. But...
More »Solar Pumps Are Still Pumps, Pose Risk to Groundwater -Rosamma Thomas
-Newsclick.in With the union government now giving a huge push to the use of solar pumps for extracting groundwater for irrigation, the problem of depletion gets further compounded. Buldhana (Maharashtra): As a large part of India reels under floods this Monsoon, there might seem little reason to dwell on groundwater depletion. Yet, government policy might be putting the already over-used groundwater at greater risk. In 2012, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...
More »Death toll rises to 92 in rain-battered Kerala
-The Hindu More heavy rainfall forecast for 48 hours Thiruvananthapuram: The death toll in rain-related incidents in Kerala went up to 92 on Tuesday, even as the southwest Monsoon again showed signs of intensifying over Kerala, sparking fears of fresh flooding. The India Meteorology Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall warning for eight districts for Wednesday. According to a bulletin issued by the weather office on Tuesday evening, the low-pressure area in...
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