Behind the unprecedented pre-monsoon devastation in Assam
- May 24, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Behind the unprecedented pre-monsoon devastation in Assam
Subject : Geography
Section : Climatology
Context : unprecedented pre-monsoon devastation in Assam
Concept:
- While the monsoons are yet to arrive, Assam has already been beset by floods and landslides that have left 15 people dead and more than 7 lakh affected.
- The hill district of Dima Hasao, in particular, has been ravaged by flash floods and landslides, with connectivity to the rest of the state snapped.
Factors.
- Extraordinarily acute pre-monsoon rains. While the average rainfall for the period of March 1 to May 20 in Assam is 434.5 mm, the corresponding number for this year is 719 mm. That amounts to a 65 percent excess
- Changes in “rainfall intensity, arrival and departure times are attributed to climate change.
- Cause of the increase in landslides is blamed on the undesirable, unpragmatic, unplanned structural intervention on the fragile landscape of hills.
- Thus there is a need for the construction to be tuned to the ecological fragility of the region keeping traditional knowledge systems in mind and involving the local community to build sustainable infrastructure.