Major cities of India are becoming more vulnerable to flood conditions. Discuss.

1. Climate change induced extreme weather events (eg) Cloudbursts in Himalayan cities
2. Heat island effect causing low pressure zones & subsequent rainfall
3. Concretisation of urban areas → no penetration of rain water cause floods.

④ Poor drainage pattern → frequent clogging ⑤ Waste generation & poor management leads to failure of drainage system ⑥ Encroachment on floodplains → e.g. Yamuna in Delhi ⑦ Deforestation + decline in water storage systems such as ponds → e.g. Bengaluru. ⑧ Poor planning + municipalities failures

Devastating consequences ① On human lives → loss of precious lives → e.g. Bengaluru floods claimed 12 lives in 2023 ② Livelihood → affect normal function of economic activities as rain bring cities to standstill ③ Poor living conditions (e.g. Gurugram) always stuck in flood induced jams (4) Loss of economic output → as industrial activities suffer (5) Decline in EoDB due to extreme weather effects (6) Infrastructure damage (eg Potholes in roads) (7) International reputation harm (eg Mumbai floods)

How to manage → a) Blue green infra (eg China's sponge city model) → b) Afforestation (eg Miyawaki) → c) Rainwater Harvesting (eg Indore Model) → d) Drainage system (eg Denmark) → e) Proper planning (eg Ahmedabad planning)