Content
- Follow the rains, not the calendar, to fight floods
- Just a pinch can reduce an Indian’s salt overload
Follow the rains, not the calendar, to fight floods
What is the issue?
- Urban flooding during monsoons is worsening despite annual preparations.
- Cities still follow outdated rainfall calendars, while climate change alters timing, intensity, and duration.
- Result: flooded roads, stranded commuters, property damage, and rising disaster losses.
Relevance
- GS I (Geography): Climate variability, monsoon patterns, extreme weather events.
- GS II (Governance): Urban local bodies, inter-departmental coordination, disaster preparedness.
- GS III (Disaster Management & Environment): Urban flooding, infrastructure resilience, climate adaptation policies.
Practice Questions
- Urban flooding in India is more a governance failure than a natural disaster. Critically examine in light of changing rainfall patterns. (250 Words)
Current Context & Data
- Extreme events: Punjab floods (all 23 districts), Delhi & Gurugram inundation, Himalayan cloudbursts, Kolkata heavy rains.
- Early rains: Mumbai (135 mm & 161 mm in consecutive days), Delhi (81 mm in hours).
- CEEW data: 64% of Indian tehsils now face more heavy rainfall days.
- Economic cost: Average flood damage ~₹8,700 crore per event.
- Rainfall compression: Rain that used to fall in a day now falls in an hour.
Core Problem
- Preparedness based on seasonal averages, not hourly extremes.
- Drain cleaning & waste management schedules outdated.
- Infrastructure designed for “old rainfall” patterns, not current realities.
Analytical Dimensions
- Climatic Dimension: Changing IDF (Intensity-Duration-Frequency) curves → rainfall is shorter, sharper, more destructive.
- Urban Governance Dimension: Poor coordination between storm water management and waste disposal departments.
- Infrastructure Dimension: Old drainage networks cannot handle sudden downpours.
- Economic Dimension: Floods now the biggest cause of disaster losses in India.
- Social Dimension: Waterlogging disrupts mobility, health, livelihoods, and disproportionately affects urban poor.
Proposed Solutions in Editorial
- Use sub-daily rainfall data → integrate high-intensity hourly rainfall trends into drainage design.
- Example: BMC widening drains to handle 120 mm/hour.
- Synchronise waste & drain cleaning calendars → joint sanitation + engineering teams, IMD-triggered alerts.
- Example: Vijayawada’s coordinated monsoon teams reduced waterlogging.
- Update IDF curves every 5–10 years → redesign storm water systems based on micro-catchment hydrology & topography.
- Ensure separate storm water & sewerage networks.
Broader Implications
- Climate adaptation: Urban resilience requires rethinking monsoon as “not a season but an event”.
- Disaster management: Needs integration of IMD alerts, city planning, and inter-departmental coordination.
- Policy relevance: Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT 2.0, National Urban Flood Risk Mitigation Strategy.
- Global relevance: Lessons for other rapidly urbanising regions facing climate variability.
Challenges Ahead
- Financing urban infrastructure upgrades.
- Capacity gaps in municipal bodies.
- Data availability & sharing (real-time rainfall, hydrology).
- Political will for long-term resilience vs. short-term fixes.
- Public participation in waste management & flood preparedness.
Conclusion
- Indian cities are not losing to the rain, but to outdated assumptions about rain.
- Flood-proofing requires data-driven, coordinated, climate-adaptive planning.
- A shift from reactive desilting to proactive resilience-building is essential.
- Key takeaway: Instead of asking when will monsoon start, cities must ask are we prepared for the rain already falling?
Just a pinch can reduce an Indian’s salt overload
Context
- Rising Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in India: obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases.
- Policy focus so far: sugar and fats (oil boards, awareness campaigns).
- Neglected area: high salt consumption.
Relevance
- GS II (Governance & Health): Role of public health policy, regulation of food industry, behavioural change campaigns.
- GS III (Science & Tech): Nutritional labelling, salt substitutes, health economics.
Practice Questions
- Excess salt intake in India is a “silent killer” with major public health implications. Discuss the need for regulatory and behavioural interventions. (250 Words)
Facts & Data
- Average daily salt intake in India: 8–11 g/day.
- WHO recommended intake: 5–6 g/day.
- 3/4th of salt intake in India: from home-made food (pickles, papad, chutneys, cooked meals).
- Eating out: 20% of adults eat outside food ~3 times/week; restaurants add more oils, butter, and salt.
- Packaged & processed foods: invisible salt in bread, cookies, ketchup, cakes, pastries.
Health Implications
- Hypertension prevalence: 28.1% adults.
- Hypertension → leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
- Children at risk: salt should not be added in infants’ diets; early exposure builds addictive taste preference.
- Myths: Rock salt, black salt, Himalayan pink salt are “healthier” → all contain sodium; some not iodised → risk of iodine deficiency.
Current Gaps
- Policy discourse dominated by sugar and fat, ignoring salt.
- Limited public health attention despite scientific evidence.
- Salt reduction not integrated effectively into food regulations, labelling, or NCD prevention programmes.
Economic & Policy Justification
- WHO: Salt reduction is a “best buy” intervention.
- ROI: Every $1 invested → return of $12 in health savings and productivity.
Recommended Strategies
Regulatory & Structural Measures
- Move from sugar/oil boards to HFSS boards (high fat, sugar, salt).
- Front-of-pack labels: Warning signs for high-salt foods (Chile model).
- Salt ceilings for processed foods.
- Restrict marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
Public Programmes
- Reform food procurement in schools, Anganwadis, hospitals.
- Train cooks, set salt standards in government meals.
- Integrate with National Multisectoral Action Plan (2017–22) and upcoming NCD plans.
Behavioural Change
- Gradual salt reduction while cooking.
- Use herbs & spices as substitutes.
- Promote low-sodium salt substitutes (with caution for kidney patients).
- Community innovations: restaurants removing salt shakers, families doing weekly kitchen reviews.
Early Prevention
- Focus on children’s diets (no added salt in infants).
- Shape taste preference early to prevent lifelong high-salt consumption.
Global Best Practices
- Chile: Mandatory front-of-pack warning labels on high salt foods.
- Latin America: Salt ceilings and strong food labelling laws.
- Lessons: Regulation + awareness works better than awareness alone.
Way Forward
- Salt reduction should be elevated as a public health priority equal to sugar and fat.
- Needs multi-sectoral strategy: health, food processing, consumer affairs, education, and community engagement.
- Combine regulation (mandatory labels, salt ceilings) with community behaviour change.
- Integrate salt reduction into national NCD prevention programmes.
- Adopt a life-cycle approach: start with children, institutional food programmes, and extend to packaged food industry regulation.
