<p>A severe cyclone has battered India’s west coast in recent days. The most powerful cyclone in the Arabian Sea in decades, Cyclone Tauktae has claimed lives, destroyed infrastructure and laid waste crops as it raced from Kerala to Gujarat. Over the weekend, scores of lives were lost in the southern states, including eight in Karnataka. It narrowly missed Mumbai and made landfall in Gujarat late on Monday. Although Mumbai escaped Tauktae’s full wrath, it has suffered, nonetheless. The storm set adrift three ONGC barges, one of which capsized. While the Indian Navy has been able to rescue 184 personnel aboard one of these barges, hundreds of others are still missing. High waves and strong winds are hampering the Navy and Coast Guard’s use of choppers in the search and rescue missions. State governments have done a good job in evacuating lakhs of people from coastal areas. They must follow up on that effort by providing food and water to the evacuees. Cyclone Tauktae has hit India at a time when the country is already struggling to deal with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several Covid-19 centres had to be evacuated. The cyclone has weakened India’s already limited health infrastructure. With lakhs of people being packed into relief centres, the danger of coronavirus infections spreading among them looms. Uprooted trees have hampered transport of oxygen and medical equipment. These must be cleared immediately.</p>.<p>Cyclones in the Arabian Sea are rare; they account for just 6% of all tropical cyclones. On an average, the Arabian Sea sees just two or three cyclones and even these are usually weak. Global warming is changing that. For the fourth consecutive year, India’s west coast has been hit by a severe cyclone and that too in the pre-monsoon period. As global warming gathers pace, the frequency and intensity of cyclones striking India is expected to grow. What is more, they may not be confined to certain periods of the year.</p>.<p>Even as India begins to assess the damage done by Cyclone Tauktae, another cyclone is churning the seas. Cyclone Yaas is gathering pace in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to strike India’s east coast by end-May. In a little over a week, the monsoons will make their advance along the west coast. Is India prepared to deal with this combined fury? Covid centres along the coast should be moved further inland. More buildings need to be converted into relief centres so that there is no crowding. We need to prepare for the outbreak of water-borne diseases and epidemics, too.</p>
<p>A severe cyclone has battered India’s west coast in recent days. The most powerful cyclone in the Arabian Sea in decades, Cyclone Tauktae has claimed lives, destroyed infrastructure and laid waste crops as it raced from Kerala to Gujarat. Over the weekend, scores of lives were lost in the southern states, including eight in Karnataka. It narrowly missed Mumbai and made landfall in Gujarat late on Monday. Although Mumbai escaped Tauktae’s full wrath, it has suffered, nonetheless. The storm set adrift three ONGC barges, one of which capsized. While the Indian Navy has been able to rescue 184 personnel aboard one of these barges, hundreds of others are still missing. High waves and strong winds are hampering the Navy and Coast Guard’s use of choppers in the search and rescue missions. State governments have done a good job in evacuating lakhs of people from coastal areas. They must follow up on that effort by providing food and water to the evacuees. Cyclone Tauktae has hit India at a time when the country is already struggling to deal with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Several Covid-19 centres had to be evacuated. The cyclone has weakened India’s already limited health infrastructure. With lakhs of people being packed into relief centres, the danger of coronavirus infections spreading among them looms. Uprooted trees have hampered transport of oxygen and medical equipment. These must be cleared immediately.</p>.<p>Cyclones in the Arabian Sea are rare; they account for just 6% of all tropical cyclones. On an average, the Arabian Sea sees just two or three cyclones and even these are usually weak. Global warming is changing that. For the fourth consecutive year, India’s west coast has been hit by a severe cyclone and that too in the pre-monsoon period. As global warming gathers pace, the frequency and intensity of cyclones striking India is expected to grow. What is more, they may not be confined to certain periods of the year.</p>.<p>Even as India begins to assess the damage done by Cyclone Tauktae, another cyclone is churning the seas. Cyclone Yaas is gathering pace in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to strike India’s east coast by end-May. In a little over a week, the monsoons will make their advance along the west coast. Is India prepared to deal with this combined fury? Covid centres along the coast should be moved further inland. More buildings need to be converted into relief centres so that there is no crowding. We need to prepare for the outbreak of water-borne diseases and epidemics, too.</p>
