Public perceptions of rainfall change in India

People’s perceptions of changes in local weather patterns are an important precursor to proactive adaptation to climate change. In this paper, we consider public perceptions of changes in average rainfall in India, analyzing the relationship between perceptions and the instrumental record. Using data from a national sample survey, we find that local instrumental records of precipitation are a strong predictor of perceived declines in rainfall. Perceptions of decreasing rainfall were also associated with perceptions of changes in extreme weather events, such as decreasing frequency of floods and severe storms, increasing frequency of droughts, and decreasing predictability of the monsoon. Higher social vulnerability—including low perceived adaptive capacity and greater food and livelihood dependence on local weather—was also associated with perceptions of decreasing rainfall. While both urban and rural respondents were likely to perceive local changes in precipitation, we show that rural respondents in general were more sensitive to actual changes in precipitation. Individual perceptions of changes in local climate may play an important role in shaping vulnerability to global climate change, adaptive behavior, and support for adaptation and mitigation policies. Awareness of local climate change is therefore particularly important in regions where much of the population is highly exposed and sensitive to the impacts of climate change.     

Vertical accuracy evaluation of SRTM-GL1, GDEM-V2, AW3D30 and CartoDEM-V3.1 of 30-m resolution with dual frequency GNSS for lower Tapi Basin India

Abstract

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM-GL1), Advanced Space Borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer- Global DEM (GDEM-V2), recently released Advanced Land Observing Satellite (‘DAICHI’) DEM (AW3D30) and Indian National Cartosat-1 DEM v3 (CartoDEM-V3.1) provide free topographic data at a 30-m resolution for Indian peninsula. In this research study, the vertical accuracy of DEM is evaluated for above data-sets and compared with high accuracy dual frequency GNSS of a millimetre accuracy. The extensive field investigation is carried out using a stratified random fast static DGPS survey for collecting 117 high accuracy ground control points in a predominantly agriculture catchment. Further, the effect of land cover, slope and low-lying coastal zone on DEM vertical accuracy was also analysed and presented in this study.     

Shifting discourses of climate change in India

Developing countries like India are under international pressure to sign a legally binding emissions treaty to avert catastrophic climatic change. Developing countries, however, have argued that any international agreement must be based on historic and per capita carbon emissions, with developed countries responsible for reducing their emissions first and funding mitigation and adaptation in other countries. Recently, however, several scholars have argued that Indian government climate change discourses are shifting, primarily by recognizing the “co-benefits” of an alignment between its development and climate change objectives, and by displaying increasing “flexibility” on mitigation targets. This study investigates the factors driving shifting Indian discourses of climate change by conducting and analyzing 25 interviews of Indian climate policy elites, including scientists, energy policy experts, leading government officials, journalists, business leaders, and advocates, in addition to analysis of articles published in Economic and Political Weekly (a prominent Indian policy journal), and reports published by the government and other agencies. Our analysis suggests that India’s concerns about increasing energy access and security, along with newer concerns about vulnerability to climate change and the international leadership aspirations of the Indian government, along with emergence of new actors and institutions, has led to plurality of discourses, with potential implications for India’s climate change policies.     

Use of Seismotectonic Information for the Seismic Hazard Analysis for Surat City, Gujarat, India: Deterministic and Probabilistic Approach

Surat, the financial capital of Gujarat, India, is a mega city with a population exceeding five millions. The city falls under Zone III of the Seismic Zoning Map of India. After the devastating 2001 Bhuj earthquake of Mw 7.7, much attention is paid towards the seismic microzonation activity in the state of Gujarat. In this work, an attempt has been made to evaluate the seismic hazard for Surat City (21.170?N, 72.830?E) based on the probabilistic and deterministic seismic hazard analysis. After collecting a catalogue of historical earthquakes in a 350?km radius around the city and after analyzing a database statistically, deterministic analysis has been carried out considering known tectonic sources; a further recurrence relationship for the control region is found out. Probabilistic seismic hazard analyses were then carried out for the Surat region considering five seismotectonic sources selected from a deterministic approach. The final results of the present investigations are presented in the form of peak ground acceleration and response spectra at bed rock level considering the local site conditions. Rock level Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration values at 0.01?s and 1.0?s corresponding to 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years have been calculated. Further Uniform Hazard Response Spectrum (UHRS) at rock level for 5% damping, and 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years, were also developed for the city considering all site classes. These results can be directly used by engineers as basic inputs in earthquake-resistant design of structures in and around the city.