'Evacuation' has been key to disaster management in Odisha. The aim is to achieve zero casualty.
Some areas in the Indo-Gangetic basin in India have already passed the groundwater depletion tipping point and its entire northwestern region is predicted to experience critically low groundwater availability by 2025, according to a new report by the United Nations.
With different agencies showing divergent predictions regarding the southwest monsoon, the central government and states are gearing up to face adversity with various line ministries reportedly being directed to undertake mock drills and hold preparatory meetings. Around 56 per cent of the net cultivable area of the country is rain-fed, accounting for 44 per cent of foodgrain production. The June-September rains contribute around 73 per cent of the annual precipitation.
In a major report prepared for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics, the rise in temperature will trigger a cascade of cataclysmic changes that include extreme heat-waves, declining global food stocks and a sea-level rise affecting hundreds of millions of people.
The decision was taken in a high-level review meeting chaired by principal secretary to prime minister PK Mishra.
The new idol of Lord Ram was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi temple on Thursday afternoon, ahead of the January 22 consecration ceremony.
The very severe cyclonic storm 'Biparjoy' intensified into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' and is likely to cross Saurashtra-Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts around the afternoon of June 15 as a 'very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS)', the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
'Since there is no photo-op, or quick fix solutions, politicians do not want to address climate change. It is very unfashionable.'
All armed forces including the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and Indian Coast Guard have made necessary preparation to provide assistance to the local people of Gujarat.
At least 34 people were killed during Cyclone Fani, which barrelled through coastal Odisha on Friday last, causing widespread destruction and leaving hundreds grappling with water shortage and power cut.
Ramon Magsaysay winner Anshu Gupta, whose non-governmental organisation Goonj has been leading the relief efforts in Nepal which was ravaged by a devastating quake in April this year, speaks to Ankita Mishra.
Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan made the announcement in the assembly while replying to a notice seeking adjournment motion moved by Congress-led UDF opposition on the serious situation prevailing in the state due to the sharp decrease in rainfall.
The cost of living crisis is the biggest short-term risk the world is facing, while the failure of climate mitigation and climate adaptation is the largest long-term concern, the World Economic Forum said on Wednesday. Releasing its annual Global Risks report in London ahead of its Davos summit next week, the WEF also said geopolitical rivalries and inward-looking stances will heighten economic constraints and further exacerbate both short- and long-term risks. The Global Risks 2023 report, drawing on views of over 1,200 experts, policy-makers and industry leaders from across the world, also urged countries to work together to avoid 'resource rivalries'.
The Odisha government is preparing for Cyclone Phailin -- which is expected to hit the east coast on Saturday evening -- on a war footing.
The NRSC satellite imagery revealed that the lake covered approximately 162.7 hectares. Its area increased to 167.4 hectares on September 28 but drastically reduced to 60.3 hectares.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Tuesday that India's general government debt (comprising both central and state government debt) could exceed 100 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the medium term. It also cautioned that long-term debt sustainability risks are high due to the significant investment required to meet India's climate change mitigation targets. The Indian government, however, disagreed, arguing that risks from sovereign debt are extremely limited as it is predominantly denominated in domestic currency.
At the review meeting, chaired by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba in New Delhi, the IMD said above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of northeast, east and central India and some parts of northwest India.
A dozen people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in and around Chennai while personnel on fishing boats and farm tractors were engaged in rescuing stranded people on Tuesday.
The four Indians from Punjab, Haryana, were on Thursday seen off at the Benina Airport by the embassy's local representative Tabassum Mansoor.
Meanwhile, the administration claimed it was fully prepared to deal with fresh fires in case they break out anywhere in the state due to a change in the weather.
The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that if the Army cannot move its missile launchers, heavy machinery up to the northern Indo-China border, then how will it defend it and fight a war, if it breaks out.
While a maximum of 21 people died in Puri, four deaths each were reported from Mayurbhanj and Jajpur, and three each in Cuttack and Kendrapara.
It has noted that melting glaciers due to any impact of climate change will not only severely affect the flow in Himalayan river system but will also give rise to natural disasters.
Gujarat will host the next round of G20 meetings from March 27 to April 4, during which three conclaves will be held in the state on a range of issues, where delegates from different countries will converge for participation, an official said.
At least 50 major landslides occurred in just four road stretches in calamity-torn Uttarakhand, where hundreds of pilgrims are feared to have perished in flash floods, an official said.
'Drought in the 1990s was essentially the drought of a poor India.' 'This 2016 drought is of a richer and more water-guzzling India.' 'The severity and intensity of the drought is not about lack of rainfall.' 'It is about the lack of planning and foresight, and criminal neglect.'
The important observation on the interpretation of the provision came in a judgement by which the top court directed National Disaster Management Authority to issue guidelines in six weeks for ex gratia compensation to families of those who died of Covid.
Navy Day is celebrated every December 4, as on this day in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war Indian Navy undertook Operation Trident in which its missile boats carried out an audacious attack to sink enemy ships.
With the focus now shifting from disaster mitigation of cyclone to flood relief, the defence ministry on Monday said it has pressed four helicopters into service to evacuate the marooned local population as well as to drop relief materials to Phailin hit areas.
Almost every year, three to four waves of flood ravage Assam. The average annual loss due to the disaster is to the tune of Rs 200 crore, according to a state government website.
He said India wanted growth, development and peace in the region and was keen to utilise technology to pursue this goal for the shared prosperity.
'The lessons learnt from the triple disaster have put Japan's energy future On the right path,' notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The federal contingency force has committed a total of 112 teams for deployment in five states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are expected to be affected by the cyclone developing in the Bay of Bengal.
Thackeray said losses have been reported from coastal Konkan and some other regions. He said and orders have been issued to carry out spot inspections to assess the damages caused by the cyclone.
James Wilson tracks down discrepancies in the much-hailed demonetisation policy and the subsequent statements of the government and the Reserve Bank of India.
Last year, China held a meeting with some South Asian countries on COVID-19 vaccine cooperation without the participation of India.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, assured the court that everything is under consideration.
Markets watchdog Sebi on Friday directed stock exchanges to impose "financial disincentives" on stock brokers for technical glitches at their end, amid instances of snags at the brokers' end impacting the overall trading system. Besides, the stock brokers would have to inform the bourses within one hour of any glitch happening in their trading sysstems as well as submit a preliminary incident report in one day. As part of tightening the regulations, Sebi also said that the bourses should disseminate on their websites the instances of technical glitches occurring in the trading systems of stock brokers along with the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of such issues.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh was briefed about this and other activities being done at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) for the training of bureaucrats on COVID-19 related issues during a video conference with the director and faculty of the premier institution.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising justices R S Reddy and M R Shah said that voluntary contribution can always be made to the NDRF as there is no statutory bar under the Disaster Management Act.
