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Showing posts from October 12, 2014

From Phailin to Hudhud: a year of extreme weather events : DownToEarth

Year 2014 has witnessed a series of floods, droughts and an unusual spell of hailstorms in a few states. A look at the damage and displacement caused by them   Phailin ravaged over 300,000 houses in coastal Odisha Since October 2013, when Phailin hit Odisha’s coast and left a trail of destruction, India has witnessed a series of extreme weather events like cyclonic storms, cloudburst, floods, droughts and hailstorms. Though cyclone Phailin did not claim many lives, it left behind a trail of destruction that severely crippled people’s livelihood. The storm was followed by Lehar, a cyclonic storm initially predicted to be a very severe storm and later transformed into a deep depression. Year 2014 began with the occurrence of polar vortex, a phenomenon that brought unusual chill to North America and Europe. The weather event did not leave India untouched. The country experienced hailstorms because of the unusual movement of cold westerly winds that c