Reports from Mumbai reveal how even a rich municipal corporation has been unable prepare the city’s infrastructure for heavy monsoon rainfall. The reasons for this are many, as it is not a city that has come up in a planned manner. Establishing drainage requires not just heavy investment but also high quality civil engineering. More importantly, the cooperation of the citizens is a must to ensure damage is not inflicted irresponsibly on the infrastructure. In a smaller yet different way, this applies to Dehradun as well as other cities in the hills and plains of Uttarakhand.
The monsoon crisis of the present involves severe disruptions caused by unpredictable rainfall patterns, leading to alternating extremes of devastating floods and prolonged droughts. Core environmental impacts involve incidents of erratic rainfall – short bursts of torrential rain are replacing steady seasonal showers. Uttarakhand experiences this increasingly every season. Due to the severe flooding, urban areas drown due to outdated drainage and sudden downpours.
At many places, long dry spells between rain events deplete groundwater tables. Extreme summer heat accelerates Himalayan glacier melting, worsening river floods. Many riverside settlements face the consequences. Importantly, heavy runoff washes away fertile topsoil and triggers landslides. Unpredictable rain destroys summer crops, directly driving up food prices in markets, due to which farmers lose investments, increasing financial distress and poverty.
Countrywide, floods destroy billions of rupees worth of infrastructure, homes, and businesses. If it doesn’t rain as much as it should, reservoir levels in dams cut hydropower generation during peak demand. Also, intense rain runs off instead of refilling drinking water aquifers, very important for areas dependent on such supply. In many places in the plains, stagnant water triggers surges in dengue, malaria, etc. There is also mass displacement – floods and landslides force thousands to flee their homes. Delayed monsoons also prolong deadly summer heatwaves.
As such, critical solutions are required, regarding which city planners must pay particular attention. There needs to be climate resilient infrastructure – building better urban storm drainage and sponge cities. Agriculture needs to switch to drought-resistant crops and drip irrigation systems. Water Harvesting must become a general practice, expanding local rainwater storage to catch heavy runoff.
Very importantly, early warning systems should be in place right down to the grassroots level, which would early ensure evacuation of high-risk zones. These and other measures may not all be required in every part of the country, but an improved understanding of the situation would ensure the necessary response to save lives and property.
