Drought of equity

Will El Nino strike?

Here’s some relief for the Indians eagerly waiting for rains. The Australian Met department in its latest update on El Nino has said that climatic indicators of El Nino, such as temperature in the Pacific Ocean, trade winds and air pressure fluctuations over the tropic Pacific Ocean, have “eased”. In its statement released on July 17, the Met department says, “The past fortnight has seen climate indicators ease slightly, with all showing values near the threshold for an El Niño event.”

2001-2010: Warmest decade on record

The rate of climate change accelerated in the period 2001-2010—the warmest decade ever recorded worldwide, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its preliminary findings for its report titled Decadal Global Climate Summary. Dramatic and continuing sea ice decline in the Arctic was one of the most prominent features of the changing state of the climate during the decade (see 'Decade of extreme weather events', and map).    

Why are monsoons difficult to predict? (Part-I)

B N Goswami, Director of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology explains why rains in the tropics are difficult to predict.

Why are monsoons difficult to predict? (Part-II)

B N Goswami, Director of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology explains why rains in the tropics are difficult to predict.

Parched ground

Maharashtra in the grip of severest drought since 1972 maharashtra seems to be heading towards a drought-year. On July 9, the state government declared a 'drought-like' situation in 16 districts of the state. The Maharashtra cabinet took this decision in view of the below-average rainfall in many regions of the state that has led to crop loss, delayed sowing, acute drinking water and power shortage.

It's emergency

Severe drought in California CALIFORNIA governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared emergency in nine Central Valley counties experiencing severe drought.

The rural weather department

A good mango harvest augurs well for paddy production, says a popular Oriya folklore. So, many farmers in paddy-intensive regions of the state, such as Bargarh district, plan their paddy-selling quota on this basis. Another popular folklore in Orissa links good tamarind harvest to floods. There are many such examples from across the country. With geographical impressions of many generations embedded into it, folklore is a perfect indicator of ecological patterns of an area.

Disaster intimation

Forewarned is forearmed. With this motto, Argentina has embarked on a mission to launch two Earth observation satellites so that it is alerted against environmental threats.

Melting to extinction

current forecasts of climate change for 2050 suggest a significant adverse effect on flora and fauna species and habitats in the uk. This was the finding of an extensive study that used computer modelling and observation for assessing impacts of climate change on 50 species of the country.