Coastal areas of Ganga – uttamhindu.com

A study led by Britain’s Newcastle University says that by the 2050s, the intensity of tropical storms in the Ganga coastal region will increase by about 20 percent. The study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, however, said that the number of storms in the lower delta areas of the Ganges and Mekong rivers is expected to reduce by more than 50 percent. The Mekong River originates from the Himalayan plateau and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and southern Vietnam and joins the South China Sea. Due to their limited adaptive capacity and location, the East Coast of India, Bangladesh and the lower delta regions of Vietnam are vulnerable not only to huge loss of life and property due to tropical storms but also to the impacts of climate change, including changes in rainfall patterns, Also included are adverse weather events and sea-level rise.

Tropical storms form when a low pressure area is formed due to water vapor from tropical oceans. In a tropical storm, the wind speed can exceed 60 kilometers per hour and heavy rain can occur during this time. Every year about 90 such storms occur around the world, most of which result in major disasters. The speed of winds in a tropical cyclone is more than 120 km per hour and about seven percent of the world’s cyclones originate in the Northern Indian Ocean. Most of them form in the Bay of Bengal rather than the Arabian Sea.

Haley Fowler, author of the study and a professor of climate change impacts at the university, said that storms have a large-scale impact on society due to strong winds, rain and flooding. Studying these changes will help us plan better for future events. Former Director General of the Indian Meteorological Department, Dr. KJ Ramesh has said that we need to think and work again in a planned manner in view of future fears on various projects including dams, bridges, roads.

Keeping the above study in mind and keeping in mind the problems arising due to the current climate change, there is a need to think about the climate change and take concrete steps at both the society and government level.