The monstrous dust storms that barrelled through the northern regions of India earlier this month left over a 100 people dead and a trail of devastation behind. These pre-monsoon weather events continue to pose a threat. Are these sandstorms unusual? No. But their severity is. In Agra, the storm packed in a wind speed of over 120 km per hour. Across Rajasthan, UP and neighbouring pockets, the high-velocity storm carried debris causing huge damage to public property.
Reasons such as heat wave, moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal and erratic Western Disturbance formation have been mentioned, but weather experts are unanimous that the frequency of these high-intensity storms will increase as surface temperature gradually soars, due to climate change. World over, the occurrence of sandstorms has risen. According to the Union Home Ministry, between 2005 and 2014, India incurred economic losses to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore annually due to natural disasters. And 10,510 people perished due to events triggered by nature in 2015, says the National Crime Records Bureau. Although national weather forecaster IMD was close to accurate in predicting the dust storms, India’s weak forecasting infrastructure and dissemination system leave a lot to be desired.
Even more serious, very little research has been conducted on such weather events, their frequency, ferocity as well as the underlying environmental reasons. In India, the challenge is massive since a majority are out of the ambit of weather forecasting and most vulnerable to such phenomenon. The National Disaster Management Authority has made the right move by planning a national- level disaster database. However, to make the country resilient against newer challenges posed by climate change, a meteorological intervention alone will not yield any tangible result. India has to look at forest degradation, desertification, changing land use pattern as well as urban planning which have a huge bearing on such weather events.