Ahmedabad: If the recent extreme weather events in Ahmedabad — high temperatures between March and May, erratic monsoon rain and urban floods — are any indication, the city is in trouble. A study now says the city needs a better blue-green infrastructure (BGI) network, a combination of developing and integrating more lakes, gardens, open spaces with existing civic infrastructure for ecological restoration.
The researchers, Ravnish Kaur and Kshama Gupta of the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, say that the existing storm water drain network can serve just 55% of the city leaving many areas to vulnerable to urban floods. With the climate crisis footprint becoming larger every year, it is now vital for Ahmedabad, its citizens, and its planners to adapt to the vagaries of the climate crisis.
Each year 40% of the average annual rainfall flows away as surface run-off in the city. Many areas of the city are left waterlogged and that is mainly due to the insufficient capacity of drains as they are designed for20% to 25% of peak rainfall.
“Ahmedabad thus requires a well-defined BGI network, where existing gardens and lakes can act as natural basins for the retention of storm water, while excess water can finally be discharged into the Sabarmati,” the study says.
The study points out that the western side of the city slopes down from north to south and from west to east while the eastern side slopes down from east to east towards the Sabarmati River.
Ahmedabad has very less green cover (12. 3%) and blue infrastructure or lakes (2. 2%), the latter is degrading continuously. The study cited the examples of Vancouver and Copenhagen, where city-wide strategies to mitigate urban floods through nature-based storm water management have been implemented.
Another possible solution the study mentions is integrating bluegreen practices across barren surfaces of the city (34. 7%) and road networks (8. 8%) to reduce the imperviousness factor of Ahmedabad and encourage greater absorption of water.
City gets 7.7mm, rain to fade from today
Ahmedabad: The city on Tuesday received an average of 7.7mm of rain till 7pm. Dana pith got 22.5mm, followed by 19mm in Memco, 17.5mm in Paldi, 17mm in Usmanpura, 13.5mm in Sarkhej, and 11.5mm in Jodhpur.
Western city areas received more rain than the east. As of Tuesday morning, the city has had 19.5% excess rainfall this season. Light to moderate showers disrupted traffic and waterlogging was also reported at certain spots with water pooled from the downpour in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, heavy rain will continue in North Gujarat, parts of South Gujarat and coastal Saurashtra, while other areas may get light to moderate rain. In Ahmedabad, the intensity of the rain is likely to reduce, met department officials said.
The monsoon trough across central India and the trough from the north-western Arabian Sea is producing rain in the state, met department officials said, adding that the strong system active over central India will continue till Thursday.
Vardhman Envirotech
India’s Passionate rainwater company
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