Rain caused mayhem to crops and cities but clouds have a silver lining

The floods that hit Delhi in the last two weeks were the worst in 45 years. Climate experts believe India will see more and more episodes of extreme events like floods. That highlights the need for all cities along rivers to make flood protection a key feature of urban planning. Technically, it is not difficult to protect Delhi and other riverine cities. It just requires the will.

But while mourning the losses and misery caused by the floods and the prospect of more frequent floods in future, keep in mind a silver lining.

While floods can damage crops and cities, they also represent a huge bonus for farmers needing rain. This is especially true in years when rains are deficient.

The monsoon this year got off to a terrible start. The deficit on June 9 was 60%. This gradually came down but remained well below normal in June. It took the heavy rainfall, which also caused the floods, to increase cumulative rainfall to normal. This is the silver lining. It has ensured that some of the deficit has been made up. North-west India, bread basket of the country, has received more than normal rainfall. Central India has received normal rainfall. Conditions are well below normal in the southern peninsular belt. There is also a shortfall in the east and north-east, where flooding can be a greater problem than drought.

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