While there is no change in the strength of the Modi-led CCPA over its two tenures, what has changed is its profile.
'Expect very heavy rainfall at some places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar along with sub-Himalayan West Bengal comprising of Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, including Sikkim, parts of Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of lower Assam, Rangia downward like Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri along with parts of Meghalaya.'
Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the start of the 21st century due to rising temperatures, losing over a vertical foot and half of ice each year and potentially threatening water supply for hundreds of millions of people in countries, including India, according to a study published in 2019.
Central officials said despite many enquiries by the ministry about the condition of the embankments, the state government kept silent. It did not bother to inform the ministry even when the embankments gave way, they said. In fact, the Bihar water resources department's daily newsletter said a day before the breach that the embankments were standing strong, officials said.
'Glaciers are melting all across the region.'
'If you look at the entire 60-day period of March and April, you see that temperatures were soaring more than 3.5 degrees Celsius above the maximum temperature.' 'Normally, events like this happen only for a short period.'
With major rivers in northern Bihar rising menacingly at several places in the state following heavy rains in catchment areas and discharge into the rivers from Nepal, thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes and hundreds of villages have been flooded, officials said.
The district administration has pressed men and machinery for relief and rescue operations, he said.
'Neither State should take the matter into a terrain that involves tension -- and certainly not war.'
'They are not tom-tomming what a great thing the Supreme Court decision is.' 'If they say it was a great thing, the public will react because people suffered and are still suffering.'
'Events like the one we saw on Sunday are complex geological processes which can be impacted by weather and climatic conditions.' 'It is difficult to attribute something like this to just one factor or to a particular time period, especially when we have still not understood the exact cause.'
In another dig at Kumar for joining hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad, Modi reeled out Bihar police crime figure to claim "Jungle raj has begun to knock Bihar."
Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday took over the baton of the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee from outgoing IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha even as the government plans to create a new post to focus exclusively on inter-services issues and acquisitions.
Chief Ministers of both states announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the next kin of the deceased.
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued a warning about havoc rainfall or a cloud burst hitting Bihar's flood-affected districts in the next 24 to 48 hours, officials said on Sunday.
Professor Mohammad Ismail Bhat warns of a strong quake waiting to happen in Jammu and Kashmir.
The displacements were a result of a combination of increasing hazard intensity, high population exposure and high levels of social and economic vulnerability, a report says.
'Coordination between our 50 teams, each with a strength of 45 men, played a key role in rescuing flood-affected people in Chennai. In all, we succeeded in rescuing over 20,000 people.'
'We need an early warning system in India.'
'India is a pharma dada. We can manufacture enough for our people and for the world.'
The national calamity response force, NDRF feels it is time that citizens are "trained" in combating both man-made and natural catastrophes.
Battling choppy weather, power crisis, inundated streets and the odds, the students, with a few girls among them, survived through the tough times, keeping each other strong.
The Nepal earthquake has driven home the importance of home insurance. What are the factors you need to keep in mind before insuring your property? Indrani Roy offers a checklist.
Very heavy rains are expected over north Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim in the next 48 hours, with cyclonic storm Phailin now closer to the Chattisgarh-Odisha border, the National Disaster Management Authority has said.
The satellite will enable a full range of services to neighbours including the areas of telecommunication, television, direct-to-home, VSATs, tele-education and tele-medicine.
Many in the specialised force feel they are not being treated on par with those in the armed forces. Sahil Makkar reports
At a time when millions of people are taking to the streets, joining the wave of global climate strikes and demonstrations spreading around the world, with generations demanding urgent action on the escalating ecological emergency from governments and institutions, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) Environmental Photographer of the Year contest shows the devastating impact climate change has on humans and wildlife around the world. The Environmental Photographer of the Year award, which is supported by the UN Environment, Arup, and Olympus UK, "exists to inspire change from political leaders, decision makers, and the general public." Keep scrolling to see the powerful winning photos from this year's contest.
'I reached Bhopal the day after the gas tragedy; the smell was still in the air. It was a professional hazard but I was not scared.'
Here is a list of previous cyclones that have struck the country.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
Flash floods and landslips triggered by the monsoon fury left eight more persons dead, taking the number of people killed in calamity-hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to 138 even as 2700 pilgrims and locals were rescued from Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.
The government also said it will hold consultations with the airlines to explore the possibility of curbing the menace of charging exorbitant airfares during emergency situations.
Extensive anthropogenic interference, as part of developmental activities, is a significant factor that increases this hazard manifold. As a result, the landscape in the Himalayan, north-eastern regions and many other regions of India are highly susceptible to reoccurrence of landslides, says Dr Nitish Priyadarshi.
'India in 2020 is a lot better prepared than in 1962.' 'It is no longer a pushover; and anything other than a crushing Chinese military victory will be a major loss of face for China,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan in the first of a three part column.
Scientists at the India Meteorological Department warn that not only has India turned hotter in the last two decades, but that heat waves are projected to become more intense, have longer durations and greater frequency, thereby resulting in more deaths.
Nano's production though continues unhindered despite mounting losses
Besides the five Indian films that are playing at the Toronto International Film Festival this year -- a rather large collection at an international film festival, says Aseem Chhabra -- there are more films with an Indian connect.
'Shaheen Bagh is no longer a mere ghetto of lower middle class Muslims.' 'Now, it is a metaphor for resistance, secularism and struggle,' notes Md. Zeeshan Ahmad.
'Why should the people of Odisha divert water from the Mahanadhi when 13 out of 32 districts are chronically drought prone?' 'Water is a state subject. Can you really nationalise rivers for which you need drastic amendments in the Constitution?'
A global failure to respond to climate changes could result in about 8.7 per cent economic loss in India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2100, Asian Development Bank said.
