International Journal of Environment and Disaster Studies

Characteristics of Changing Path of the River Ganga in Bihar, India

2023-12-19T14:08:58+00:00

The Ganga River has been essential for the growth of human civilization since it has given people access to food, water, and shelter. Due to strong sedimentation, high deposition downstream, channel shifting, and the formation of islands (Diaras) along the Bihar River, the Ganga's morphology has been altering. The current study examines the Ganga's journey from Ara to Patna in an effort to demonstrate how the river's morphology has changed over time. The Ganga stretch between Ara and Patna is the studied area. Toposheet and satellite imagery of LISS III of four different times (years) from National Remote Sensing Application (NRSA), Hyderabad has been used to investigate changes taken place in the river throughout the times. The study opened up information regarding the active shifting of the Ganga at Neknamtola, Ami near Dighwara, Daudpur near Danapur, and Sabbalpur near Hajipur in Bihar from 1974 to 2010.

Water Quality Evaluation of River Cauvery in Tiruchirappalli Region, Tamil Nadu

2023-12-27T11:42:57+00:00

The present study is the assessment of the water quality of river Cauvery at Tiruchirappalli region, Tamil Nadu. Water samples were collected from four different locations in river Cauvery during January – March, 2018. Water samples were analyzed for physical and chemical parameters (pH, TDS, turbidity, total hardness, total alkalinity, DO, COD, BOD, chloride, calcium, fluoride, and sodium) and compared with the Indian Standard for drinking water. Water samples of stations 3 and 4 have been found with high chemical properties in all months. The findings of the present study concluded that the water quality of river Cauvery is being polluted. Sewage discharges, solid waste dumping, and cleaning activities along the river banks are the causes of river pollution in the Tiruchirappalli region. Since this water is unfit for direct drinking, it needs sufficient treatment before consumption.

Groundwater Recharge Potential Zone Identification and Water Quality Assessment: A Case Study of Rajsamand District in Rajasthan, India

2023-07-26T16:52:37+00:00

Hydrogeochemical evolution was assessed through groundwater recharge potential and water quality assessment in the Rajsamand District representing the sub-humid region of Rajasthan. Three groundwater recharge potential zones (GRPZ) were identified using geology, geomorphology, lineaments density, land cover, soil type, rainfall, slope, drainage density, and topographic wetness index. These thematic layers were given weightage based on their influence using the analytical hierarchy processes (AHP) technique and integrated weighted overlay technique in the ArcGIS platform. Groundwater quality was assessed for eighteen samples by determining pH, electric conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), major anions (CO ^2-, HCO ^-, Cl^-, F^-, SO ^2-, NO ^-,) and major cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺). These parameters were further used for groundwater suitability tests for drinking by applying the entropy water quality index (EWQI), groundwater pollution index (GPI), and irrigation purpose by Kelly's index. Spatial distribution was achieved using an inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation tool. The central part of the district was observed to have moderate (with 65% of the area) type recharge potential, whereas the eastern part was found with high recharge potential. Hydrochemical analysis revealed the sub-standard water quality in the central, eastern, and southeast parts. GPI-endorsed potential contaminants are F^- and NO ^- from natural and anthropogenic sources. A reciprocal relation between recharge potential and water quality was observed. It implies that a shallow aquifer composed of porous Schist in the southeast part allows comparatively more water to percolate and carries acidic leachate from mining, resulting in higher ionic concentration through dissolution.

Public Perception Study on Health Effects of Air Pollution in Thanjavur City, Tamil Nadu

2023-03-17T06:16:09+00:00

Air pollution is one of the major increasing factors in global problems. Currently, air pollution is causing high emissions of greenhouse gases, global warming, sea-level rise, climate change and various diseases. This is due to the release of various particulate and gaseous contaminants from the combustion of fossils. Although many countries worldwide are implementing various schemes and alternative methods to reduce or control this air pollution, obtaining clean air remains challenging. That concern, air pollution in Thanjavur city, has been increasing recently. In the present study, a public interview was conducted, and responses from 250 city dwellers were recorded. Motor vehicle transportation and the burning of other items are the cause of the high air emissions. This is causing respiratory problems and lung-related diseases among people. Of these, 26% of people suffer from eye irritation and 13% people from headaches. The study concludes that raising awareness about the effects of pollution on Thanjavur city dwellers, enforcing proper traffic management and banning old vehicles will reduce air pollution.

Economic Valuation of Forests Around Summerhill, Shimla (H.P.)

2022-09-07T09:44:16+00:00

The forests are the most important natural resources and have been of great importance to human beings and act as sources of raw materials, food and other services for the human population and hence, we are largely dependent on them. Besides this, forests are the key players in environment purification as they contribute largely to carbon sequestration. They are also the new vistas for carbon trading at the global level. In addition, forests are a source of timber with market values, influence local and regional climate, preserve soil cover in- situ, are a major component of watersheds and protect soil downstream from floods. Contrary to this, the increasing burden of population on forests caused large-scale destructions in past many years leading to a decrease in its area considerably. The study highlights that their values though provided to various users but go completely unrecorded in the state’s accounting system. The study incorporated the forest resources into the national accounts and adjusts the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the depletion of forest capital, using the Contingent Valuation Method. The value of net accumulation (positive or negative) of forests is calculated and the net Domestic Product is adjusted for the depletion of the forest resources to get Environment adjusted Domestic Product (EDP). The results show that the EDP equals 98.4% of the adjusted net domestic product in 1993–1994. A proper accounting framework would better reflect not only the long-term value of the state's natural wealth but also its immediate contribution to the state economy in the current accounts. This study is part of a broader research aimed at providing decision-makers with data and information which would allow them to design more appropriate land use policies. The study was conducted in the Summerhill of Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) with the objective of covering the inventory of forest resources and the economic assessment of the multiple services of forests.

AHP Model-based Mapping of Flood and Landslide Susceptibility in Bhagirathi Basin

2022-10-25T13:34:49+00:00

Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) prediction models are being used in the social and economic sciences to assess, locate, and address complicated socio-economic issues and get an output of complex interactions between various variables linked with ambient physical, socio-cultural, economic, and political systems. The current study focuses on the ' Bhagirathi Basin' of the central Himalayas, which is prone to landslides and flood disasters due to extreme rainfall and other environmental factors. The susceptibility assessment study used 10 parameters under five themes: climatic, topographical, hydrological, edaphic, and land-use patterns for assessing flood susceptibility and 14 parameters for landslide susceptibility. These distinct 16 parameters were analysed based on the AHP methodology that provides a rank of parameters and susceptibility map. For this study, CR values of 0.068 and 0.086, respectively, were calculated for flood and landslide susceptibility mapping to indicate the realistic level of consistency in the pairwise comparison study. The analysis found that 4.76% and 16.76% of the total area are associated with very high flood hazard zones. In comparison, 0.50%, 1.47% of the total area is associated with very high and high landslide hazard zones, followed by 19.61% with moderately high landslide hazard zones. The credibility of the present method was tested through validation with the previous landslide points and generated AUC value. The values close to (1) suggest high accuracy, whereas values close to (0.5) imply low accuracy. The AUC values reveal good agreement between the previous landslide points and the susceptibility map with a prediction accuracy of 84.4%. However, this study is helpful for the scientific community and researchers to understand the efficacy of the AHP model and the status of landslides and flood disasters.