MAPPING FLOOD, DROUGHT RISKS OF INDIAN DISTRICTS

A new report from the Department of Science and Technology and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, quantified the vulnerability of each district in the country to climate change so as to develop actionable pathways to mitigate them and evolve sustainable solutions.

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @New Delhi

The report, District-Level Climate Risk Assessment for India: Mapping Flood and Drought Risks Using IPCC Framework, was prepared by premier institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi and the Centre for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP), Bengaluru.

It profiles India's districts on their hazard-specific risk and the nexus of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

The report identifies flood-prone locations in the Brahmaputra and Ganga basins in the Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains in the North and Northeast, respectively. In the Northwest, risks from west-flowing rivers such as the Narmada and Tapi; and in Central India and the Deccan, threats from major east-flowing rivers like the Mahanadi, Krishna and Cauvery are mapped.

While the flood hazard is concentrated, drought is spread more evenly in districts across the country. The larger the population exposed to hazards, the higher their index of vulnerability.