ESSIC/AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde recently published an article in The Hindu Business Line titled “Understanding link between extreme rainfall events and floods”.
In the piece, Murtugudde writes that contrary to popular belief, there is little connection between extreme rainfall events and rising incidence of floods in India.
Instead, factors like soil moisture, thunderstorm size, warm temperatures, water storage capacity of tree canopies, and tree leaf wettability can all affect flood conditions.
“These multitude of natural-human system interactions over India point to the urgent need for a better understanding of the complexity of the relation between extreme precipitation, streamflows and floods especially where human action may escalate flood risks,” ends Murtugudde.
In addition to his work at ESSIC, Murtugudde is an Affiliate Professor for the Department of Geology currently serving as a Visiting Professor in Bombay, India. He works primarily in climate studies, exploring the co-evolution of life and climate and what it means for sustainability. He also writes a blog hosted on the ESSIC website.
To read the article, click here: “Understanding link between extreme rainfall events and floods”.
