Focused experiments demonstrated that the Sri Lankan Land Mass (SLLM), situated in the southeastern part of the Indian peninsula, actively blocks long-period swell waves from the Southern Ocean from reaching India’s southeast coast. Photo: Google Maps

Villagers leave a tsunami warning centre after attending a mock drill to prepare against tsunami, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, in Kaitha village in Kendrapara district in the eastern state of Odisha on December 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In Odisha, six districts comprising 24 villages, along with two previously recognised villages, making a total of 26 villages, have been recognized as “Tsunami Ready” by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO), said a press statement on Saturday (December 21, 2024).

The recognition was based on 12 specific indicators, achieved through a series of well-planned activities aimed at building resilience against tsunamis. These activities included —Training and Capacity Building, Community Awareness Programs, Distribution of Tsunami Awareness Materials, Preparation of Tsunami Management Plans, Conducting Mock Drills, Identifying Evacuation Routes, and Installation of Tsunami Hoardings and Signages.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, played a pivotal role in this initiative. INCOIS operates a 24-hour tsunami monitoring and alert system that encompasses everything from risk assessment to the dissemination of warnings, ensuring timely and effective action. The preparedness activities in Odisha have drawn national and international attention.

A live evacuation simulation was conducted at Kaitha village in Kendrapara district, in the presence of Dr. T. Sinanivasa Kumar from UNESCO, Dr. Sunitha Jena General Manager OSDAMA, and Amlan Anupam Senapati Dist project officer involving active participation from community members.

Volunteers evacuate a man playing a mock victim during a mock drill to prepare against tsunami in Kendrapara district in the eastern state of Odisha on December 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Interactions with local leaders and residents provided valuable insights into their preparedness journey, which has now become a model for coastal safety. Odisha’s recognition as “Tsunami Ready” showcases a successful collaboration between India’s National Tsunami Warning Centre, local authorities, and coastal communities.

It serves as a shining example of how proactive measures can save lives and build disaster-resilient communities.

In a recent study, scientists have deduced that global warming has heightened cyclone intensity, multiple rapid intensifications leading to unpredictability of cyclone behaviour. File photo
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

A growing number of cyclones are experiencing multiple rapid intensification globally where a tropical cyclone intensifies dramatically in a short period like an increase in the cyclone’s intensity of 30 knots speed or more in 24 hours and this poses significant challenges to cyclone forecasting, said scientists of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

In the latest study conducted in collaboration with researchers from Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, College of Science and Technology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, the scientists have deduced that global warming has heightened cyclone intensity, multiple rapid intensifications leading to unpredictability of cyclone behaviour.

“We have observed that tropical cyclones are intensifying rapidly and frequently. We also found changes in their lifecycles. Previously, this rapid intensification used to occur during initial stages of cyclones’ life, but now, with ocean warming, it is occurring even in the mature stages,” explained first author and INCOIS scientist N. D. Manikanta.

The team saw a significant surge in the frequency of multiple rapid intensifications across all ocean basins with western north Pacific Ocean basin contributing to nearly half of the total occurrences and the north Indian Ocean basin having a comparatively low rate.

“Increased number of multiple rapid intensification tropical cyclones in the past 20 years warrant improvement of existing numerical models. We hope to improve our understanding using new observational strategies such as drones and developing AI-based techniques for reducing uncertainties,” said INCOIS head of the Applied Research and Research to Operations (ARO) Sudheer Joseph, also the corresponding author.

Scientists said examining the variations in the intensification rates across time and at different stages of cyclone evolution will help understand correctly when such events occur. Warming of the surface ocean from anthropogenic climate change is fuelling more powerful tropical cyclones, more studies are needed to draw a relationship between the recent climate changes and factors behind rapid intensification of these cyclones, they said.

The team had used publicly available tropical cyclone data — recent and historical — from multiple agencies to create a unified, publicly available dataset including from the National Hurricane Center (for the North Atlantic and eastern-north Pacific basins) and data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (for the remaining ocean basins) and analysed 40-year (1981 to 2020) tropical cyclone intensity changes across all global ocean basins.

“These findings will contribute to our knowledge base for understanding the impacts of future climate change on the behaviour of cyclones. It is an important element in developing Ocean Climate Change Advisories under the Deep Ocean Mission,” said INCOIS director Dr. T. Srinivasa Kumar. The study published recently in Scientific Reports highlights the vital importance of better forecasting and preparedness to preserve coastal communities and infrastructure.