Letters - September 30, 2012

Integrated Approach

Getting the bulletin right

In the PBS documentary, Monsoon, the poet S P Kurada notes, “The wild monsoon winds blow with abandon, swaying everything in their path.

Capturing the monsoons

Drops for the economy

Potential help

BESIDES inducing extreme rainfall and prolonged droughts, changing climate has made traditional wisdom of farmers defunct. Earlier, they would read signs of nature— flowering time of trees to egg laying by birds—to predict weather and decide on sowing and harvesting. But with climate change, farmers find they can no longer rely on their native wisdom.

Weather dice is loaded

During my weekly conversation with my sister I told her about the unusual searing heat this June, the problems of power cuts and how we are coping in India. She, in turn, told me that in Washington DC, where she lives, there was a terrible storm that damaged her roof and uprooted trees in her garden. They were fortunate that they still had electricity, because most houses in the city were in the dark.

How humans invite storm

EVER wondered why it’s windy and thunderous when you need to go to office and quiet on weekends? Well, blame yourself. Scientists have found that human activity that releases aerosols is the culprit behind an increase in tornadoes and hailstorms during summer weekdays.

The weather mart

Archita Bhatta and Rohini Rangarajan Met department is not the only one predicting weather in India. Forecasts are now sold by businesses to businesses

A home-grown drought

Monsoon this year has failed most of India, causing drought in even well-irrigated and rainfed areas. Ravleen Kaur reports how our food preferences are making us vulnerable to drought

@110 km/hr

 

Rain Shocked

Archita Bhatta Rising trend of short but intense spells of rainfall is making usable water scarce in India