England on alert - the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) warns flooding from heavy rainfall could double in the next three decades

This is a wakeup call for England. The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) cautioned that many properties could face risk of flooding from heavy rainfall. This could double in the course of the next three decades and the government has to tackle the issue on priority. The NIC says hundreds of thousands homes and businesses are already in high danger of flooding from so-called "surface water flooding" from heavy rain. The situation is serious. Rains are intensifying due to climate change and is growing. Therefore, unmanaged developments risk putting many more properties at high risk of this sort of flooding by 2055. Hence, the government has to increase investment in relevant areas. Two of these are river pollution and drought. These have dominated public discussion about water recently. The commissioners say, "But we risk ignoring a problem that can literally drop out of the sky at any moment." The head of the Environment Agency warned a failure to adapt to climate breakdown will threaten all aspects of life in Britain. English properties at risk of flooding to double in next 30 years without urgent investment, government warned. Delays in action on adaptation would mean our children would have to bear the burden.

The nature of adaptations could be to plant trees to keep cities cooler in the face of heatwaves, or develop more heat-resilient crops. Incidentally, nature of flooding from heavy rain varies from place to place. Widespread flooding in London in July 2021 damaged more than 1,500 properties, as well as health infrastructure and public transport. Another issue is concreting of roads. Concrete increases the risk of flooding because it prevents rainwater from reaching natural drains like streams. Instead, the rainwater flows down the street and into gutters. The NIC calls for adequate investment over the next 30 years to tackle risks associated with heavy rainfall.

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UNESCO predicts the world famous glaciers might disappear by 2050 due to global warming

The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO monitors more than 18,000 glaciers across 50 of its World Heritage sites. It mentions Mount Kilimanjaro apart from the Dolomites in Italy and the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the US. The prediction of UNESCO could have serious repercussion. It predicts that around 50 percent of World Heritage glaciers could almost entirely disappear unless the world takes corrective action. It may be possible to preserve them by keeping global temperature rise below 1.5C. UNESCO says World Heritage glaciers make up around 10 percent of the world's glacier areas overall. The worst part is that the world's best-known glaciers are gradually disappearing. That would be a major loss for global tourism. The report's lead author is Tales Carvalho. He estimates that World Heritage glaciers lose around 58 billion tonnes of ice every year on an average. In other words, the loss is equivalent to the total annual volume of water used in France and Spain together. It contributes to almost 5 percent of the global observed sea-level rise. Major glaciers including Mount Kilimanjaro and Dolomites to disappear by 2050, UN report says.

He adds that in order to prevent major glacier retreat worldwide it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions. UNESCO wants local authorities to make glaciers a focus of policy. They can achieve this by improving monitoring and research. They can also implement different measures of risk reduction. Tales Carvalho cautions - "As glacier lakes fill up, they can burst and can cause catastrophic floods downstream.” The timing of the report coincides with the COP27 event in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. It would be Africa's first UN climate conference in six years. Incidentally, a recent study found that glaciers in Switzerland lost half of their volume in less than a century. Moreover, the rate of retreat of ice is on the rise. This is a matter of concern.

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A mini tornado in Croydon, South London, left a beer garden in shambles

The sudden gust of wind from this climatic disorder threw heavy garden tables into the air. It even ripped up slabs of concrete. The incident happened at the Forestdale Arms in Croydon, South London. A witness described the sequence of events. It seems “one of the tables in the garden was in the air swirling round and so was the gazebo. The doors blew in and one of the windows caved inwards. One of the tables ended up on the other side of the road. Slates were falling off of the houses opposite and one landed on one of the regulars' van. The wind was so strong it even ripped up concrete slabs." It appeared to be a one-off situation. Beer garden completely destroyed as 'mini tornado' swirls tables and rips up concrete. There is no confirmation from the Met Office about whether it really fell in the category of a tornado.

A spokesperson for the weather service explained - "There are a lot of active thunderstorms moving across parts of the UK, particularly the southern and southeastern parts of the UK that has been the case for the last few hours. So it’s certainly possible that a small tornado has formed in Croydon because we have the right atmospheric conditions for that to happen. We do see approximately 100 tornadoes in the UK a year.” Incidentally, it lasted for around a minute before the winds calmed down slightly. Apart from the above damages, there were also damages in Forestdale and New Addington. These involved brick walls torn down by the winds and roofs damaged. The Met Office had put a yellow weather warning in place. It had also warned of a chance of "sudden flooding" as rain poured down on London over the weekend. The warnings included possibilities of floods, power cuts, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds in London. A meteorologist from the Met Office added that storms could lead to 20 to 30 millimeters of rainfall in one hour. These could, in turn, lead to flash floods.

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Nigeria, the West African nation, sees the worst flooding in a decade with more than 600 dead

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Nigeria, the West African nation, sees the worst flooding in a decade with more than 600 dead

More than 600 lives are lost in the worst flooding in Nigeria in a decade. It displaced nearly 1.3 million people and destroyed more than 200,000 homes. The flooding became an "overwhelming" disaster with many states unprepared in spite of warnings. That is what the minister for disaster management said. Forecasts indicate the flooding could continue until the end of November. The country is accustomed to seasonal flooding, but the condition this year is worse. In the opinion of the government, unusually heavy rains and climate change are to blame for such a situation. Another factor could be emergency release of excess water from dams in Nigeria and in neighboring Cameroon. Experts mention other factors like inadequate planning and poor infrastructure. The flooding that began in early summer destroyed large portions of farmland and disrupted supplies of food and fuel. Moreover, there are concerns about spread of disease. Nigeria floods: 'Overwhelming' disaster leaves more than 600 people dead. The disaster has affected 27 of Nigeria's 36 states.

Nigeria's minister for humanitarian affairs and disaster management, Sadiya Umar Farouk, requested local authorities to evacuate people living in the most high-risk areas. She added that the authorities have made provisions to provide food and other support to those affected. Incidentally, people usually come back to their homes on flood plains after the water levels recede every year. This is because many of them do not have the means to relocate. Inflation has battered the economy of Nigeria and many communities have to struggle for survival. Last month international agencies like the World Food Programme and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation revealed that Nigeria was one of six countries that face a high risk of catastrophic levels of hunger.

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Heavy overnight rain robs residents of Bangalore of their sleep

People of Bangalore are worried because of heavy rain that lashed the city. It brought back memories of the flooding just over a month ago. The India Meteorological Department IMD attributes the latest spell of rain to low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. It had left the city and many parts of the state wet. However, a day of sunshine saw people stepping out in the evening but the skies opened up at night. The result was a massive downpour that continued throughout the night. Those who resided in areas near the old airport remained awake keeping a watch on the water levels. This time it did not swell like last time but migrant laborers in east Bangalore had to endure knee-deep water. The IMD assigned yellow alert and forecast more rain until October 23. Bangalore: Tech capital does not sleep (fearing rain) .

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said his department was on the job to ease the flooding. He explained - “The east zone was very badly affected by rain (on Wednesday) and we are doing everything to help the people.” He went on to add that the authorities deployed additional workers to pump out water and clear clogged storm water drains. Incidentally, during the earlier incident of flooding in early September, some of those residing in gated communities in the area had to be evacuated in tractors. They had to leave behind their expensive cars. Anyway, reopening of a major storm water drain, encroached by the gated communities in the area helped the water to recede.

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In view of the situation, the government wants all departments to remain alert and be ready to tackle any situation that arises during the cyclone-season. They have to ensure availability of all necessary equipment and human resources. This should be as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). In addition, the government issued instructions to ensure that all the tube-wells are in functioning condition in rural and urban areas. The authorities must also make provisions for an adequate stock of medicines, bleaching powder, halogen tablets, ambulance and doctors’ team in full preparedness. Incidentally, there is an IMD forecast about formation of a fresh cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal. This could likely be in the second half of this month (October 14 to October 20). Due to this, there could be another spell of heavy rain in the state.

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Odisha and West Bengal would experience heavy rainfall activity over the next few days. The India Meteorological Department IMD mentioned about a fresh low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal, off the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. It might intensify. Under its influence, there would be widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls along with thunderstorms and lightning. The affected regions would be over Gangetic West Bengal from Sept 10-13 and over Odisha from Sept 10-14. Both these states are under orange alert. This means they could face rough weather for the periods mentioned. There are orange alerts in some districts of Odisha but not for Bengal yet. However, southern districts of Bengal, including Kolkata, will be on a yellow watch. This means ‘be aware’ of the weather situation. Odisha and West Bengal In for Very Heavy Rains from September 10-14 Thanks to Bay of Bengal-Born Low Pressure.

Areas with forecast of very heavy showers might have to tackle localized flooding, waterlogging on roads and in low-lying areas, disruption of traffic, damage to weak roads and structures, localized landslides/mudslides, reduction in visibility and damage to crops. This means the residents need to abide by weather and traffic advisories and avoid remaining in vulnerable structures and visiting flood-prone areas. The impacts caused by the Bay of Bengal low-pressure could extend to other areas like western, central, southern and northeastern parts of the country. So far, both Odisha and Bengal are in the below-average rainfall category. This deficit could have long tern effects.

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Good bye floods and droughts (satire)

Water is essential for life as we know it and, as we try to migrate to other planets, our first concern is water. The logic is, if water exists, so can lifeforms. On our planet Earth, water is available in plenty but, the distribution is haphazard. While some areas pine for a drop of water, other areas suffer from an abundance in the form of floods.
That is why Moody has deep furrows on his forehead – a sign of worry.
Every year there are scenes of flooded localities with relief packages being airdropped and people running to collect the food packets. There are the aerial surveys by the minister concerned to flood affected areas to assess the extent of drainage which would translate into the amount of central aid.
Side by side there are droughts – farmers sit hunched up on their parched farmlands waiting for rains and, unable to repay the loans they had taken, resort to committing suicides.
Moody wants to change all that. He does not like to hear about unhappiness among his people. He wants them to be happy. Share is his message. Those who have plenty should not hesitate to share some of it with others who are not so fortunate.
Moody, therefore, sent for two of his assistants - Hash Budden and Nitty Gadcurry.

‘I want to discuss water,’ he said.
‘Well,’ Hash Budden began. ‘There are many water purifiers in the market. All of them guarantee pure water. If we go for bulk purchase, we will get huge discounts.’
‘I don’t mean that,’ Moody shook his head.
‘Oh! You mean you want to discuss bottled mineral water?’
‘No. I am worried about water for the masses.’
‘Then we must be careful. The ground water is depleting and, to preserve whatever is available, we must ban bore wells. Moreover, these bore wells are dangerous. Kids keep falling into them and the media people have to spend hours in the night suffering mosquito bites as they give live coverage of rescue operations.’
‘Hash-ji, I am on a different frequency,’ Moody appeared to be exasperated.
‘Oh!’ Hash Budden was deflated.
‘Why don’t we link up the rivers?’ Moody shot his question.
‘We are drawing up plans,’ Nitty joined in the conservation.
‘I don’t want plans. I want action. How soon can we link up the Ganges with the Godavari and Cauvery?’
‘Well – work has started and we can expect to see results soon.’
‘Give me a timeframe,’ Moody demanded.
‘That is not easy,’ Gadcurry shifted in the chair. ‘There are many uncertainties. Especially with the Ganges. It needs to be cleaned up first otherwise the pollution would spread to all the other rivers.’
‘I see,’ Moody nodded his head. Then he began to doodle on the pad in front of him. The doodle looked like a meandering river. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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