Environmental Challenge due to Climate Change in Bihar, Developing State of India

Abstract

As detailed in the Vulnerability Atlas of India, 27 districts in Bihar are fully affected by high-speed winds of 47 m/s intensity due to climatic change. The area of districts—Banka, Jahanabad, Arwal, and Nalanda is nearly 90 percent affected. Other districts of South Bihar except Nawada are partly affected by high-speed winds of 44 m/s. In all 86 percent of the total area of Bihar is prone to high-speed winds of 47 m/s intensity and only 14 percent of the area prone to high-speed winds of lesser intensity.

The five major district, in all 21.1 % of Bihar fall under seismic zone-V. The Himalayan tectonic plate near the Bihar-Nepal Border is having six subsurface fault lines penetrating through its Gangetic planes in four directions, Bihar is vulnerable to the worst kind of disaster caused by earthquake.

Available evidence shows that there is high probability of increase in the frequency and intensity of climate related natural hazards due to climate change and hence increase in potential threat due to climate change related natural disasters in India, and Bihar is no exception to this. It is highly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological natural disasters, with North Bihar in general being highly flood-prone, and South Bihar being highly drought prone due to the recent climatic change.

Keywords: Climatic change, Natural Disaster, Earthquake, Flood, Drought, Cyclone.