Droughts and floods

Hopefully we have seen the last of the floods for some time. Some time. And now we can look back at what we did and did not do. For instance, was there some effective way we could have harnesses all that rainwater? Did it help recharge groundwater? How much? Of course, we cannot wait for floods to do that!

With increased urbanization and industrial growth that demand more water, are we headed in the right direction? What about the abysmal way we use and waste water?

1500 is the number of plastic water bottles consumed in 1 second in the US! Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist. 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year.

Global warming will make the Indian monsoon even more variable and even less predictable. A recent study quoted by Down To Earth, used daily rainfall data between 1901 and 2004, to conclude that monsoon has become almost twice as difficult to predict.

Analysis of rainfall trends over the past half-century shows significant decreasing trend in the frequency of moderate rainfall events and an increasing frequency of heavy rainfall events - above 100 mm/day. Extremely heavy rainfall events of more than 150 mm/day will get more frequent.

When rivers run wild after a flooding the power situation is also jeoparidsed in many places. When power is disrupted, it means a loss to the economy, at the two ends of the spectrum. Do we have the infrastructure to deal with the emergencies as they arise? Can we turn the floods into an advantage in any way?