The Hindu 24.03.2011
“Network on disaster key to awareness”
Tondiarpet, Basin Bridge vulnerable to disasters, says expert
Informative: An official at the Regional Meteorological Centre in
Nungambakkam briefs students about the weather observation instruments,
on Wednesday. — Photo: V. Ganesan
A local network on disaster and environment management must be formed to
prepare comprehensive disaster vulnerability studies and disseminate
information to public and the government, said R.R. Krishnamurthy,
Associate Professor, Department of Applied Geology, University of
Madras.
Addressing a meeting organised here on Wednesday to mark
the World Meteorological Day, on the theme ‘Climate for You’, he said
various institutions should be part of the network.
Highlighting the climate disaster resilience index
prepared for Chennai, he said Chennai Corporation Zone 7 (Nungambakkam)
was more resilient to such disasters owing to better infrastructure and
the preparedness level. Zones 1 and 2 (Tondiarpet and Basin Bridge) were
more vulnerable owing to environmental pollution and economic
conditions.
Better understanding of the local climate was necessary
and a site-specific action plan would help in disaster management. A
climate action plan has been submitted to the Chennai Corporation, Prof.
Krishnamurthy said, underscoring the need for improving the forecasting
facilities.
Y.E.A. Raj, Deputy Director General of Meteorology,
Regional Meteorological Centre, said climate change was inevitable and
adaptation to the phenomenon is the need of the hour.
On the impact of climate change in city, he said the
number of hot days, where the maximum temperature exceeded 40 degree
Celsius, had increased to 129 in the past decade compared to 68 days
between 1991 and 2000.
Cooler days have decreased over the years going by the
data. During the decade from 1971, Chennai recorded 95 days of minimum
temperature dipping below 19 degree Celsius. This dropped to 25 days
during the past decade. However, the average annual rainfall has also
increased to 140 cm in the recent years.
R. Suresh, Director-in-charge, Aerodrome Meteorological
Office, Meenambakkam, spoke about the factors contributing to climate
change. Though carbon dioxide emission contributed to global warming, it
is not the only cause. Global cooling is also a threat. He suggested
that mitigation measures such as release of treated CO2 and energy
conservation must be implemented.
On the occasion of the World Meteorological Day, the
Meteorological Department had thrown open its facilities in and around
Chennai to the public. Many students eagerly went on a tour around the
Meteorological offices in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam. For S. Shruthi
and Shirley Stephen, students of geoinformatics in Anna University, the
exhibition provided an opportunity to learn about the various
forecasting models and interpretations of satellite images.
Officials of the Department said this year, the open
house included the automated weather station sensors. The visitors were
also briefed about the use of handheld digital devices for validating
the weather parameters.