Monday, April 28, 2014

Welcome rains in Kalimpong - 27Apr2014



The entire north-east of India has been tinder dry after the SW monsoons of 2013 (We currently have 48% deficient rain in our region with the other north east states going upto 67% deficient - top slide)
Most areas are reeling under a severe water shortage in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas and numerous forest fires have been reported all over the region.
In this scenario, the sharp and heavy thundershowers brought about by a dense blob of CB clouds (IR satellite image of 27Apr2013, time 5.30pm), came as a welcome relief.What it also revealed was how unprepared we are for the onset of the monsoons 2014 with clogged drains and torrents of storm water turning roads into rivers.

Rainfall
Kalimpong - 34mm
Darjeeling - 13mm
Gangtok - 10mm

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

A welcome initiative by the Indian Army : Eco-Seminar at Sevoke (25Apr2014)


Praful Rao,
Kalimpong, Dist Darjeeling.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

A short film on water issues in Kalimpong.


Rohan Rao,
Secretary,STH,
Kalimpong,
Dist-Darjeeling,
Email - sth.secretary@gmail.com

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Rainfall data for March 2014



With the start of the pre-monsoon season in 2014 (March to May), SHWB and Sikkim remained deficient in rainfall as was the case last year in 2013

Rohan Rao
Secretary,STH,
Kalimpong,
Dist - Darjeeling,
Email - sth.secretary@gmail.com
  

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Clean drinking water in a disaster zone : Tricia Compas-Markman

In times of disaster, clean drinking water becomes a rarity, but a necessity. Engineer and designer Patricia Compas-Markman dedicates her work to addressing this need, innovating technology that will give disaster victims, soldiers, or anyone in distress with purified water.


Read more here

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

Excerpts of the IPCC report are reproduced below :-

1.    In recent decades, changes in climate have caused  impacts on natural and human systems on all continents and across the oceans.
2.    In many regions, changing precipitation or melting snow and ice are altering hydrological systems, affecting water resources in terms of quantity and quality. Glaciers continue to shrink almost worldwide due to climate change affecting runoff and water resources.
3.    Many terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species have shifted their geographic ranges, seasonal activities, migration patterns, abundances, and species interactions in response to ongoing climate change
4.    Impacts from recent climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires, reveal significant vulnerability and exposure of some ecosystems and many human systems to current climate variability.
5.    Climate-related hazards exacerbate other stressors, often with negative outcomes for livelihoods, especially for people living in poverty .Climate-related hazards affect poor people’s lives directly through impacts on livelihoods, reductions in crop yields, or destruction of homes and indirectly through, for example, increased food prices and food insecurity.
6.    Adaptation is becoming embedded in some planning processes, with more limited implementation of responses.
7.    Adaptation experience is accumulating across regions in the public and private sector and within communities. Governments at various levels are starting to develop adaptation plans and policies and to integrate climate-change considerations into broader development plans.

The full report is here
     
Praful Rao,

Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling