Wanted: a strategy to turn climate research into disaster management

Topic: GS3 – Disaster and disaster management.

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 7)

Context

● India is addressing its diverse natural hazards through improved disaster management and climate resilience efforts. ● Challenges include the need for better localised forecasts and effective implementation of climate research. ● Enhancing weather readiness involves bridging research with practical applications and building capacity for sector-specific disaster management solutions.

 Awareness and Challenges

• India faces a range of location-specific natural hazards, including heatwaves, wildfires, heavy rains, landslides, droughts, and cyclones.
• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is recognized for its effective disaster response and efforts to reduce mortality and damage.
• Despite its achievements, NDMA contends with knowledge gaps and barriers in improving its operations to enhance weather readiness and climate resilience.

Weather Extremes and Climate Change

• Indian regions experience weather extremes in all seasons, with phenomena such as heatwaves, wildfires, and rainfall extremes occurring outside the traditional monsoon period.
• Climate change impacts include cooler trends in northern-central India and warmer trends in peninsular India.
• Additionally, increased wildfires and landslides are being observed recently.

Vulnerability Factors

• Vulnerability is exacerbated by population and economic growth, with people moving to unsafe regions and informal housing in unstable or flood-prone areas.
• Increased tourism and infrastructure development in these regions contribute to the problem, as does the replacement of forest cover with cash crops.

Ineffective Translation of Climate Research

• India invests heavily in climate research and services to support various sectors, but uptake remains low due to insufficient location- or sector-specific information and inadequate skills for using it.
• Efforts to downscale global forecasts to hyperlocal scales are ongoing, but operationalizing these forecasts remains a major hurdle.

Case Studies of Implementation Issues

1. Irrigation Advisories:
   • Weather forecasts are used to provide farm-scale irrigation advice, which can save up to 30% of water without affecting crop yield.
   • Large-scale implementation requires local government, NGOs, and farmer organisations for effective use and feedback collection. Current lack of extension agencies and funding structures hampers progress.
2. Urban Flood Predictions:
   • Effective urban flood management requires downscaled rainfall forecasts and coordination of drainage pumps, traffic control, and other city functions.
   • Municipalities use sensors and weather data, but comprehensive flood management is constrained by inadequate research-to-operation systems and lack of trained personnel.

From Research to Operations

• Climate research needs to transition from academic goals to practical applications for effective disaster management and climate resilience.
• There is a need for sector-specific extension agents to bridge the gap between research and operational needs, ensuring that solutions are tailored to local contexts.
• Sustained financing and capacity-building are essential for developing effective research-to-operations systems at local and sectoral levels.

Conclusion

• To ensure India’s development is sustainable and safe, there must be a focus on improving weather readiness and climate resilience through better integration of research with practical applications.
• Training and deploying sector-specific extension agents who can communicate in local languages and manage cultural factors is crucial for effective disaster management and risk mitigation.

PYQ: Vulnerability is an essential element for defining disaster impacts and its threat to people. How and in what ways can vulnerability to disasters be characterised? Discuss different types of vulnerability with reference to disasters. (150 words/10m) (UPSC CSE (M) GS-3 2019)

Practice Question:  Discuss the challenges and solutions in improving disaster management and climate resilience in India, focusing on translating climate research into practical applications. (250 Words /15 marks)