Hyderabad: India and France will lead a collaborative study of 10 countries into the adverse effects of Arctic polar ice melting on the Southwest monsoon.
It has long been speculated that the rapid melting of ice in the Arctic Circle could change the dynamics of the monsoon system in the country, but specific knowledge still remains elusive due to lack of proper scientific studies.
Scientists say that the troposphere could be acting as a bridge between the Arctic region and the Indian subcontinent to affect the monsoon. The Southwest monsoon contributes most of the rainfall in the state.
India had prepared a concept note on the subject earlier this year, which was discussed with other countries.
Dr Shailesh Nayak, secretary, ministry of earth sciences, said on Thursday that India and France would spearhead the 10-country mission to explore the climate angle of the polar ice caps melting.
Dr Nayak was speaking at the International Workshop on Geospatial Mapping and Risk Reduction at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). He added, “The Arctic dire-ctly affects us and if there is heavy melting of ice there, there is a direct affect on our climate.”
Dr Satheesh C. Shenoy, director, INCOIS, further explained that the melting of ice in the Arctic region was leading to warming of the troposphere, which is the lowest portion of the Earth’s atmospheric systems.
“Warming of the North Atlantic supports the convection system which transfer the heat anomalies to the troposphere. The upper air circulation then gets perturbed. That perturbation generates waves in the atmosphere which can travel thousands of kilometres,” said Dr Shenoy.
Scientists observed that the decadal cycle of the Southwest monsoon system correlated with the North Atlantic current.
Next: 3d mapping system to mark areas at risk of inundation
3d mapping system to mark areas at risk of inundation
Hyderabad: The government has identified several high cyclone and tsunami-risk areas along the Andhra coastline and could expand the urban three-dimensional mapping system to accurately predict which areas are in the risk of inundation during hazardous events.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services has launched a project to network hundreds of earthquake monitoring stations making real-time reception of seismic data from remote location possible for faster response and prediction.
In the first phase of the earthquake-networking project being undertaken by the Earth Systems Sciences Organisation, about 90 seismic stations will be networked while another 80 will be added in the second phase of the project that has been christened Indian Seismic and GNSS Network.
The project will interlink independent stations to make sharing of real-time data faster, helping in faster prediction and communication of earthquake and tsunami warnings.
The three-dimensional LiDAR-based system is currently limited to areas in Tamil Nadu like Nagapattinam, but could be scaled to coastal areas of Andhra like Nellore and Visakhapatnam.
Scientists from INCOIS conducted a hazard risk assessment for areas along the coast and have already identified a few vulnerable areas. The three dimensional mapping system will allow authorities to understand which areas stand the risk of inundation during cyclones and heavy rainfall and from which areas people have to be evacuated to reduce loss.
Next: Extensive damages expected post helen, scr on high alert
Extensive damages expected post helen, scr on high alert
Hyderabad: Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts, minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees and flooding of roads and bylanes is expected.
“Storm surge of about 1 to 1.5 metre height above astronomical tide could inundate low-lying areas of Guntur, Krishna, West and East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh at the time of landfall,” a release by the meteorological department stated.
The South Central Railway is on high alert and P.K. Srivastava, general manager of the SCR reviewed the situation at Rail Nilayam and asked officials to initiate measures to face any situation arising out of the cyclone.
The SCR has opened emergency control rooms at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad, and also in divisional head offices in Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions.
A multi-disciplinary team of officers drawn from various departments will man these emergency control rooms round-the-clock to closely monitor the field conditions and initiate appropriate action as required.
The railway track in the coastal region that is likely to be affected is being patrolled on foot by the SCR engineering staff, stationary watchmen are on guard at identified vulnerable locations like bridges to keep a continuous watch on the safety of railway track structure.
Engineering material trains loaded with sand, boulders and quarry dust are ready for immediate mobilisation in case of need.
