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What's the article about?
- It discusses the recent floods and landslides in the Himalayan region of India due to altered weather patterns caused by climate change.
Relevance:
- GS1: Important Geophysical Phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes;
- GS3: Disaster and Disaster Management.
Analysis:
- The recent floods and landslides in the Himalayan region of India due to altered weather patterns caused by climate change.
- The unexpected copious rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is attributed to a surfeit of Western Disturbances (WD).
- WDs are tropical storms that originate in the Mediterranean region and normally bring winter rainfall to north India.
- Climate scientists have been warning of the increasing probability of such high-risk events.
- Altered Weather Patterns:
- Due to climate change, the Western Disturbances (WD) have been erratic, with too few of them in December and January and their absence causing the hottest February recorded in India in at least a century.
- However, the WD appear to be overcompensating for their absence, with several of them incident over north India in the last two months – a time when they normally should not be around.
- Climate scientists have been warning of the increasing probability of such high-risk events.
- Perils of Wanton Construction:
- The ongoing Char Dham road building project has led to large-scale altering of the mountains with significant chunks carved away, rendering them vulnerable to upheaval.
- Ill-thought construction and haphazard building practices have magnified the risk to residents who live in these regions.
- Recent fears of land subsidence in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, demonstrated the risk to residents who live in these regions.
Way Forward:
- The State governments tend to search for short-term solutions such as demanding compensation from the Centre for 'disaster relief', but it is time that more serious thought is given to the nature of infrastructure development and, if need be, restrictions imposed in the larger interest of minimizing hazards and maintaining stability.
- These events highlight the need for sustainable infrastructure development practices that take into account the changing weather patterns due to climate change.
