Context: India’s Weather Disaster Database, which maps & quantifies the damage caused by June-September 2023’s extreme weather events. India endured an unbroken streak of 122 days of extreme weather events between June and September 2023, encompassing lightning and storms, heavy rains, floods and landslides, heat waves, cold days, snowfall, cloudbursts, and cyclones. Tragically, nearly 3000 lives were lost due to these calamities.
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Purpose of the Database:
The database aims to map the frequency and geographic dispersion of extreme weather events in India while quantifying the resultant loss and damage. It draws primary data from two governmental bodies—the IMD and the Disaster Management Division. However, it focuses on the count of extreme weather event days rather than the precise number of distinct events.
Methodology and Assumptions:
Various government documents align with categorizing extreme weather events into seven broad types. These categories include heavy rains, floods, landslides, lightning, storms, cyclones, snowfall, cloudbursts, cold days, cold waves, heatwaves, and severe heatwaves.
In the context of heavy rains, floods, and landslides, only events associated with fatalities or damage are considered. These events require rainfall between 64.5 to 115.5 mm in 24 hours. Lightning and storms encompass thunderstorms, hailstorms, dust storms, and gales. Meanwhile, the cold day/cold wave category incorporates varying degrees of cold conditions. The heatwave category includes different levels of extreme heat.
Assessment of Loss and Damage:
The database evaluates losses across four key categories: human fatalities, affected crop areas, destroyed houses, and animal deaths. While information on human deaths and crop area impact comes from media reports, IMD, and the Disaster Management Division, data on houses destroyed and animal deaths, available solely for monsoon months, is sourced exclusively from the Disaster Management Division.
Limitations:
The data collection process in India involves State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), which collate and provide disaster-related information to central agencies. However, some SDMAs, like Assam and Himachal Pradesh, release their individual data. To prevent data inconsistencies and gaps, this report hasn’t included these specific sources, prioritizing centralized data sources instead.
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