Study of rain pattern shows change in state, spells a lot of damage, says expert
Telegraph | 8 June 2025
Short and intense rainfall that increase flood risks and bring a lot of damage have become more frequent, said Kalyan Rudra, the state pollution control board chief.
Rudra said that a study of rainfall patterns in Bengal had shown a change in the state.
“There is an increase in short-duration, intense rain. This leads to crop loss, displacement, more run-off and less penetration of water into the soil and less groundwater recharge,” Kalyan Rudra, the chairperson of West Bengal Pollution Control Board said at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening.
The chamber had organised a session on Fostering Climate Consciousness: Business and Beyond.
“The usual onset of monsoon used to be between June 8 and June 11. In most years recently, the monsoon did not arrive even within the first two weeks of June. The volume of rain has become much more in the latter part of monsoon,” he said.
Later, Rudra told Metro that October rainfall had increased and this causes significant crop damage.
“Monsoon’s usual departure date is September 30. But the rainfall in October has shown an increase. This is worrying because there are mature crops in the fields. More rain during October damages the crop,” he said.
Rudra, also a river expert, said rampant development blocking the flow of rivers was to be blamed for frequent landslides in the hills.
“People see a river as a conduit for flowing water, but a river also carries a lot of sediment. By blocking the flow of a river (for hydro-electric projects), we are disturbing this balance. There may be ways to channel the water, but the sediment cannot be channelled. It gets deposited and reduces the cross-section of the river,” he said.
At one point, the river overflows and floods its banks.
Rudra, who grew up in Kalimpong, said he does not remember an instance during his childhood when the Teesta came over the road at Teesta Bazar. “But it is happening frequently now,” he said.
Besides Rudra, Aniruddha Mukhopadhyay, a professor at the department of environmental science at Calcutta University, and Swati Nandi Chakraborty, an environment consultant with the centre’s Cantonment Board, were the other speakers at the session.
Naresh Pachisia, president, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, delivered the welcome address.