Natural disasters
Temperate Regions vs tropical regions:
1.Dry Conditions Fueling Fires: In temperate climates like Victoria, Australia, extremely low humidity levels, often as low as 10%, contribute significantly to the severity of wildfires. Dry fuel materials become highly vulnerable to ignition, leading to rapid spread of bushfires.
2.Contrast with Tropical Regions: Contrary to temperate climates, tropical rainforests maintain high humidity levels due to consistent rainfall. This moisture content in trees acts as a natural barrier against wildfires, exemplifying the stark difference in fire risk between regions like South India and Australia.
Very low humidity is the main cause of these wildfires in temperate climates like Victoria state and other parts of Australia as shown in the video.
As a fresh student in Melbourne,Australia, first time I have seen the bushfires fr close quarters. They are as terrying as the floods in tropical regions like India particularly South India.
The temperatures soared above 35 degrees many times in the last week. Do you know what was the humidity during 35 degrees temperature? 10%!!! Yes. You heard it right! It is startling. Humidity was 10-12% in the air when the temperature was above 35 degrees. Extremely dry conditions!
Dry fuel materials such as leaf litter, bark, small branches and twigs, grasses and shrubs become totally dry and moistureless due to high temperature and no humidity! These materials easily catch fire due to extreme dryness. It provides fuel for bushfires. Dry fuel is more likely to catch fire and burn easily; damp or wet fuel don't burn due to good moisture content.
In tropical Rain forests (Eg: Entire Western Ghats across Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Gujarat), humidity is very high because of strong sun light and consistent rainfall in Tropical weather. The moisture content in trees never comes down. Because of good rainfall and humidity, the tropical forests don't catch fires even in hot summer. Hyderabad is 305 kms long to the nearest Sea coast! Still we feel very humid! Sweat comes out when you stand in the Sun! This exemplifies the strength of sunlight in tropical regions! Very strong direct sun rays result in very hot and humid conditions even in interior deccan plateau!
Melbourne is situated beside coast! Beach is 10 kms from my home! There is no humidity at all! We never sweat here even in summer! The Sun is not at all strong because of slant rays! But occasionally when temperatures soar in peak summer, all of a sudden, the tree materials become very dry and are extremely vulnerable to catch fires!
Due to the global warming, unfortunately the temperatures are increasing. In tropical areas, especially in South India, evaporation, cloud formation and humidity are rapidly increasing every year! This is causing devastating floods every year! Very recently Chennai faced horrible flash floods!
The difference in handling the bushfires and floods is that bushfires can be identified very early and the residents in the vicinity of the fired can be warned and protected. Such technology is available in Australia. But in case of floods, though they can be forecast, their intensity is hard to guess and hence year after year, floods cause greater damage to habitats and humans.
In Australia, the weather forecast is highly accurate.Even in India forecasts have become reliable, but preparedness is not up to the mark. In many instances like in Orissa, Tamilnadu, though human losses could be curbed, loss of property is still on a very large scale particularly affecting the poor people and their tardy rehabilitation is keeping them in perpetual poverty.
Though there are insurance policies to cover house losses from floods in India like for bushfires in Australia, the coverage of properties is 3 per cent and the same is 77 per cent in Australia.
According to an estimate by the World Resources Institute, the damage caused by inland flooding in several parts of India is about 0.84% of its GDP in 2010. Central Water Commission data indicates that total economic losses (crops, houses and other property damages) due to floods in the last 65 years – from 1952 to 2018 – has been a whopping Rs 4,690 crore.
This is a small amount which the central Government with its 40 lakh plus crore annual budget can easily cover and therefore should.
Manduva Advait
Melbourne
Australia
Post a Comment