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The pre-monsoon season hasn’t started on a pleasant note for <keyword id="6354915" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="assam" source="Orion">Assam</keyword>. Every year, the rainy season brings destruction to the most-populated northeastern state. It brings chaos, displacing thousands of people and animals, and damaging crops and properties worth billions.<br /><br />However, this time, the monsoons are yet to arrive and according to the <keyword id="645470" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="assam-state-disaster-management-authority" source="Orion">Assam State Disaster Management Authority</keyword> (ASDMA), at least <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/over-four-lakh-people-affected-as-pre-monsoon-rains-trigger-floods-in-assam/articleshow/91632004.cms">4 lakh people have been affected and 24 people</a> have lost their lives so far due to the floods which have ravaged the state. <br /><br />On May 24, Assam floods witnessed a surge in the death toll, as it rose to 25 and 6.5 lakh people remained affected. These <a href="https://weather.com/en-IN/india/news/news/2022-05-24-assam-floods-improve-but-rains-prevail-over-northeast-india">6,50,402</a> affected, which include 1,25,471 children, reside in 1,709 villages based in 22 of the state's 34 districts. Close to 82,503 hectares of crop areas in flood-hit areas also remain affected.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="Flood hazard map of Assam, where colours represent different hazard classes" msid="91820351" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Flood hazard map of Assam, where colours represent different hazard classes&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>Why are floods an annual occurrence in the state of Assam?<br /></strong><br />Assam is one of the most flood-prone states in India and it has almost become an annual calamity. In terms of impact on <a href="https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/07/20/assam-floods/">human lives</a>, the floods of 1988, 1998 and 2004 were the worst – the 2004 floods alone affected 12.4 million people and claimed 251 lives.<br /><br />According to the Assam government, the <a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">flood-prone area</a> of the state is 31.05 lakh hectares, against a total area of 78.523 lakh hectares – this means nearly 40% of the state’s area is flood-prone.<br /><br />Overall, Assam accounts for nearly 10% of the total flood-prone area of the country.<br /><br />The average <a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">annual loss</a> due to floods in Assam is to the tune of ₹200 crore and particularly in 1998, the loss suffered was about ₹500 crore and during the year 2004 it was about ₹771.00 crore.<br /><br />Apart from the natural topography and annual excessive rainfall in Assam, there are various reasons – both man-made and natural – behind the destructive floods that hit Assam every year.<br /><br />Assam is home to a vast network of rivers, including the Brahmaputra and Barak River, and more than 50 tributaries feeding them. Assam also receives river water from <a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">neighboring states</a> like Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. <br /><br /><a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">In 2004 and 2014</a>, the south bank tributaries of the Brahmaputra in lower Assam experienced flash floods of high magnitude due to cloud bursts in the catchment areas in Meghalaya. A similar incident occurred in <a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">Arunachal Pradesh in 2011</a>, further aggravating floods in Assam.<br /><br /><strong>Bank erosion </strong>caused by the river Brahmaputra is one of the major reasons why Assam gets flooded every year. It means the removal of soil, sediment, or rock fragments along the banks, which results from high water flow. <br /><br />Due to erosion, the width of the river increases and it changes its course. According to the Assam government, more than <a href="https://waterresources.assam.gov.in/portlets/flood-erosion-problems#:~:text=The%20flood%20prone%20area%20of%20the%20country%20as%20a%20whole,prone%20area%20of%20the%20country.">4.27 lakh hectares</a> of land, which is 7.40 % area of the state, has been eroded by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries since 1950.<br /><br />The width of the river Brahmaputra has increased up to 15 kilometres at some places due to bank erosion, making it the widest river in India. It is estimated that annually nearly 8,000 hectares land is lost to erosion.<br /><br />The surveys carried out at different periods reflect an alarming picture regarding the widening of river Brahmaputra which is as follows:<br />  <div type="image" title="River Brahmaputra has been widening at an alarming rate" msid="91820475" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;River Brahmaputra has been widening at an alarming rate&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Floods are also caused by human intervention – like <strong>encroachment</strong> of river banks and wetlands, lack of drainage, unplanned urban growth, hill cutting and deforestation. The dams that are being built are further aggravating these disasters.<br /><br /><strong>Government measures to control floods in Assam<br /></strong><br />In 1982, the <keyword id="905955" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="brahmaputra-board" source="Orion">Brahmaputra Board</keyword> suggested that dams and reservoirs be built to mitigate floods in Assam. While dams are meant to regulate the flow of water, they can also be beyond the capacity of the channels downstream, proving to be a double-edged sword. <br /><br />The <keyword id="14039836" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="water-resources-department-of-assam" source="Orion">Water Resources Department of Assam</keyword> has constructed embankments and flood walls across the state. River training, bank protection, anti-erosion and town protection are also in the works. Here’s how their plan has progressed thus far:<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="Assam govt&amp;#39;s measures to control floods in the state" msid="91820500" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Assam govt&amp;#39;s measures to control floods in the state&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>Here's a short video</strong><br /><br />  <div type="image" title="Why Assam gets flooded every year" msid="91820530" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Why Assam gets flooded every year&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />

SIMPLY PUT: Why Assam gets flooded every year

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>David Zalubowski/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Vehicles stack up on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near Tower Road as a bomb cyclone packing hurricane-force winds and snow sweeps over Aurora, Colorado.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colorados-bomb-cyclone-storm-barrels-toward-midwest-2019-3">A bomb cyclone struck Colorado</a> and surrounding states yesterday, and is moving east across the central US.</span></li><li><span>The intense winter storm grounded more than 1,300 flights, left more than <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/14/denver-power-outages-thursday-bomb-cyclone/">84,000 Colorado residents without power</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-cyclone-forecast-flights-cancelled-death-2019-3">killed at least one person</a>.</span></li><li><span>"Bomb cyclone" is a meteorological term that forecasters use to describe an intense, hurricane-like storm that builds at mid-latitudes.</span></li><li><span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-bomb-cyclone-and-polar-vortex-mean-term-origin-2018-1">When a cyclone undergoes "bombogenesis,"</a> that means the storm system's pressure drops very fast, leading it to intensify.</span><span></span></li><li><span>Bomb cyclones typically form over the ocean, but they can also form over land, which happened in this case.</span></li></ul><p><span>Colorado Governor Jared Polis declared a state of emergency yesterday due to a giant winter storm that struck the state.</span></p><p><span>Meteorologists have labeled the storm a "bomb cyclone."</span></p><p><span>The bad weather has since started moving east across the central US, with</span> blizzard conditions and hurricane-force winds wreaking havoc across the Rockies. Colorado National Guard troops reportedly had to rescue stranded drivers from their cars, and <span> more than <a href="https://twitter.com/XcelEnergyCO/status/1106038463411949568">430,000 Colorado residents</a> lost power</span>.</p><p>Across the US, 1,300 flights were grounded because of the weather, and Denver International Airport shut down on Wednesday.</p><p><span>The term "bomb cyclone" is </span><span>not a hyperbole meant to frighten the public. </span><span></span><span>Rather, it's a scientific phrase that refers to a swirling, hurricane-like storm that rapidly intensifies over land due to a significant drop in air pressure over 24 hours. Here's what to know about the phenomenon.</span></p><h2><span>Cyclones versus hurricanes </span></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>NOAA</span></p><p class="caption">NOAA captures satellite imagery of a mid-latitude cyclone forming over the central US.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>A hurricane is easily recognizable by its "eye": the circular chunk of low pressure that sits at the heart of a swirling storm. These eyes tend to be somewhere around 40 miles wide. Hurricanes form in the tropics surrounding the equator, gain strength from warm tropical ocean waters, and bring lots of precipitation.<br /></span></p><p>But sometimes, storms of that shape - called cyclones - can form north of the tropics or, <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/latest-big-winter-storm-powered-by-bombogenesis">in rare cases</a>, over land instead of the ocean. In those cases, they aren't classified as hurricanes because they take shape in the mid-latitudes.</p><section><section><p>These cyclones occur when masses of cold and warm air collide. That causes an area of low pressure to form - the atmosphere's pressure at sea level winds up being lower than the pressure of the surrounding area. That low-pressure hotspot forces air upwards, where it cools; eventually, the moisture in the rising air condenses into clouds and precipitation.</p><p>Though hurricanes tend to gain attention because of their destructive force, mid-latitude cyclones are much larger: They often span areas up to four times as large as a hurricane, <a href="https://ocean.si.edu/planet-ocean/waves-storms-tsunamis/hurricanes-typhoons-and-cyclones">according to the Smithsonian</a>. </p></section></section><h2><span>A 'bomb cyclone' is an intense swirling storm</span></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>David Zalubowski/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Canada geese battle choppy water and hurricane-force winds as a bomb cyclone sweeps Colorado.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>Sometimes, if the conditions are right, mid-latitude cyclones drop a proverbial "bomb.": They lose a lot pressure over a short period of time. The lower a storm's central pressure, the stronger it is, and the faster the associated wind gusts.</span></p><p><span>When a mid-latitude cyclone loses 24 millibars of pressure over 24 hours, it's classified as a "bomb cyclone," since it has undergone the rapid intensification known as "bombogenesis." Storms that achieve this status unleash high, intense winds that can cause power outages, blizzards with white-out conditions, and heavy rainfall.</span></p><p><span>The storm that hit Colorado dropped 33 millibars from Tuesday into Wednesday - potentially enough to break low-pressure records in the Midwest.</span></p><p><span>Bomb cyclones are more common than most people realize. </span><span>Some 40 to 50 storms in the Northern Hemisphere undergo "bombogenesis" each year, <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/948599901994221568">according to meteorologist Ryan Maue</a>. That includes some of the nor'easters that rage across the northeastern US in the winter.</span></p><h2>'A cyclone of historic proportions'</h2><p>This week's storm, which is moving east, is a "<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1105887610038353920" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cyclone of historic proportions</a>," the National Weather Service (NWS) said. The NWS has issued blizzard warnings for parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. NWS offices across the Great Plains logged some 350 reports of wind gusts exceeding 50 mph during the past 24 hours, <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/historic-blizzard-blasts-100mph-across-central-us-turns-deadly/70007676">Accuweather reported</a>. </p><div><p><span>The Colorado Rockies have already received some 16 inches of snow, with 7 inches reported in Denver, <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/historic-blizzard-blasts-100mph-across-central-us-turns-deadly/70007676">according to Accuweather</a>. </span></p><p>"There have been gusts to near 100 mph with the snow in Colorado Springs, Colorado," Accuweather meteorologist <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/historic-blizzard-blasts-100mph-across-central-us-turns-deadly/70007676">Dave Samuhel said</a>. That speed is considered hurricane-force - winds between 75 and 95 miles per hour are equivalent to those in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-hurricane-damage-as-measured-by-saffir-simpson-scale-2017-8">a Category 1 hurricane</a>, while anything between 95 and 110 miles per hour is category 2 territory.</p><p><span>Maue summed up the storm eloquently <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/1105906440890470401">in a recent tweet</a>: </span><span>"I have a sense that some have underestimated the power of this <s>#</s>BombCyclone. It's like 1,000 mile wide hurricane was plopped in the middle of the Central Plains but it is snow," he said.</span></p></div><h2>Flights grounded, schools closed, drivers trapped in cars</h2><p>As of Thursday morning, more than 1,300 flights <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-cyclone-forecast-flights-cancelled-death-2019-3">had been cancelled nationwide</a>, with more than 1,200 delays. Denver International Airport was most affected, since<span> all runways were closed on Wednesday because of icy conditions and poor visibility. </span><span>The airport has since re-opened.</span></p><p><span><em><strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bomb-cyclone-forecast-flights-cancelled-death-2019-3">One dead and more than 1,300 flights cancelled as 'bomb cyclone' brings high winds and heavy snow to the Rocky Mountains and Midwest</a></em></span></p><p><span>Though Xcel Energy Colorado has restored electricity to some 360,000 residents, more than <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/14/denver-power-outages-thursday-bomb-cyclone/">84,000 remain without power</a>.</span></p><p><span>Yesterday, some 1,100 motorists were stranded in their vehicles for up to 7 hours across Colorado, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/us/winter-storm-blizzard-thursday-wxc/index.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=fbCNN&amp;utm_content=2019-03-14T10:38:40">CNN reported</a>. Numerous accidents were reported on interstates 25 and 70, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/38cff19a2ae54dfc81b60b82bc1ebcf7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the AP</a>. One Colorado State Patrol trooper, Corporal Daniel Groves, was struck by an out-of-control car and killed during the rescue efforts. </span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Associated Press</span></p><p class="caption">A string of wrecked vehicles sit on an overpass over Interstate 70 on March 13, 2019 in Aurora, Colorado.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>Roads in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and Iowa were also closed today due to to heavy snow and flooding, the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/319d8fc11d974ead87bb20cc055b49d9">AP reported</a>.</p><p><span>Multiple Colorado school districts, including <a href="https://twitter.com/DPSNewsNow/status/1106019016986943488" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Denver Public Schools</a>, were closed March 13 and 14. South Dakota's state offices were closed today because of blizzard conditions.</span></p><p><span> <a href="https://twitter.com/AudraMooreWx/status/1106243021035712513">Parts of Nebraska</a> and Iowa are also seeing heavy rain and flooding, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/319d8fc11d974ead87bb20cc055b49d9">according to the AP</a>. Rising waters along Nebraska's Elkhorn and Platte Rivers have <a href="https://www.apnews.com/319d8fc11d974ead87bb20cc055b49d9">prompted evacuations</a> in the Norfolk and Fremont areas.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Nati Harnik/AP</span></p><p class="caption">The rising waters of the Elkhorn River south of Arlington, Nebraska have forced evacuations.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p> All told, the storm has impacted 25 states.</p><p>A tornado related to the bomb cyclone also hit Dexter, New Mexico, hurting five people. And <span>a utility worker in the Texas panhandle was killed while restoring power amid strong winds there, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/319d8fc11d974ead87bb20cc055b49d9">according to AP</a>.</span></p><p><span>"This is a very epic cyclone," Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Prediction Center, <a href="https://www.apnews.com/319d8fc11d974ead87bb20cc055b49d9">told the AP</a>. </span><span>"We're looking at something that will go down in the history books."</span></p>      <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caterpillar-fungus-expensive-most-valuable-parasite-2019-3">The world's most valuable parasite, caterpillar fungus, can cost up to $63,000 per pound</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A bomb cyclone has impacted 25 US states, causing flooding, white-out conditions, and power outages - here's what that is

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>El Niño has returned to the Pacific Ocean, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but it is weak and late and not likely to deliver much precipitation to the <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=82911">parched American West.</a></p><p>In an El Niño event, surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific become significantly warmer than average, influencing weather patterns and affecting fisheries along the west coasts of North and South America. The pattern sets up when easterly trade winds in the Pacific falter and allow giant waves of warm water to drift from the western Pacific toward the Americas. NOAA's <a href="http://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/march-2015-enso-discussion-el-ni%EF%BF%BDo-here">Climate Prediction Center recently observed</a> sea surface temperatures about 0.6°C above average in the central, equatorial Pacific, one of the key indicators of El Niño.</p><p>The map above provides NASA's view of the conditions. It shows the ten-day average of sea surface height (centered on March 13, 2015) in the Pacific Ocean. It is based on data collected by the <a href="https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/ostmjason2/">Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2</a> satellite and analyzed by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.</p><p>Shades of red indicate where the ocean stands above normal sea level-warmer water expands to fill more volume because of thermal expansion. Shades of blue show where sea level and temperatures are lower than average (thermal contraction). Normal sea-level conditions appear in white. Above-normal sea surface heights in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific indicate El Niño conditions, while below-normal heights there indicate La Niña.</p><p>When it is potent, El Niño can have a significant impact on weather and climate far from the tropics. Past events have brought significant snow and rainfall to the Rockies, Sierras, and other mountain ranges in the western U.S.; prompted mild winters in the northeastern U.S.; altered rainfall patterns in the South; and reduced the number (if not the potency) of land-falling hurricanes on the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. But because of its late arrival-El Niño historically peaks between December and April-and its moderate strength, this year's event is not expected to have much impact. It might amplify global temperatures, as El Niño years tend to be warmer globally <a href="http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/85000/85083/graph_gis_2014.pdf">than La Niña or neutral years.</a></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table Full"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Bill Patzert, a climatologist at JPL, has not been enthused about the current El Niño conditions-he called it "El Wimpo" to a local newspaper-but he suggested that a larger pattern could be shifting. He pointed to a wedge of warm water off of Mexico and a horseshoe-shaped pattern of cooler waters in the western Pacific near Papua-New Guinea and the Philippines. He also noted that several <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43105">Kelvin waves</a> appear to be marching across the Central Pacific. All three features hint at changes in another Pacific cycle.</p><p>For most of the past 15 years, Pacific Ocean conditions have been dominated by a negative phase of the <a href="https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/science/elninopdo/pdo/">Pacific Decadal Oscillation</a> (PDO), a long-term pattern of variations in sea surface temperatures that scientists are still trying to understand. In the negative phase, temperatures are warmer in the interior of the Pacific and cooler along the North American coast. Negative PDO is often associated with droughts in the American West. In the positive phase, waters grow warmer along the west coast of North America and cooler in the interior of the North Pacific.</p><p>The signs have been pointing to a positive PDO. "This sea surface height map is a 'keep-your-fingers-crossed, there's-some-hope' image," Patzert noted. "That's not a forecast, but there is a glimmer of hope." NOAA's Northwest Fisheries <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">Science</keyword> Center also recently noted that waters off the West Coast have <a href="http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/pressroom/documents/CCIEAPressRelease3-17-15.pdf">become warmer and less productive,</a> which could be another sign of a shifting PDO regime.</p><p>A major shift in the PDO could accelerate global temperature changes and affect jet stream patterns and regional weather. That <em>could</em> mean more precipitation in the American West and milder winters in the East, but there are no guarantees. There are also a host of negative impacts on eastern Pacific fisheries and marine life.</p><p>Patzert adds that neither El Niño nor a positive PDO are the answer to all of the water concerns in the Americas. "El Niño is a temporary blessing or curse," he said, noting that drought problems are affected by-but not necessarily caused or solved by-a change in the weather. "El Niño can't cure an increasing water demand due to population and economic growth."</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><ul><li>Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2015) <a href="https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/science/elninopdo/elnino/">Historical El Niño/La Niña Watch.</a> Accessed March 16, 2015.</li><li><cite>Nature</cite> (2015, March 5) <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/el-ni%EF%BF%BDo-arrives-later-and-weaker-than-expected-1.17064?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews">El Niño arrives later and weaker than expected.</a> Accessed March 16, 2015.</li><li>NASA Earth Observatory (2014, May 14) <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83653">Is El Niño Developing?</a></li><li>NASA Earth Observatory (2013, September 12) <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82041">Pacific Waters Remain Stubbornly Stable.</a></li><li>NASA Earth Observatory (2009) <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/enso.php">World of Change: El Niño, La Niña, and Rainfall.</a></li><li>NOAA (2015, March 5) <a href="http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150305-noaa-advisory-elnino-arrives.html">Elusive El Niño Arrives.</a> Accessed March 16, 2015.</li>f<li>NOAA Climate.gov (2015, March 5) <a href="http://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/march-2015-enso-discussion-el-ni%EF%BF%BDo-here">March 2015 ENSO Discussion: El Niño is here.</a> Accessed March 16, 2015.</li><li><cite>San Gabriel Valley Tribune</cite> (2015, March 5) <a href="http://www.sgvtribune.com//environment-and-nature/20150305/el-nixf1o-is-here-but-its-too-little-too-late-to-help-the-drought">El Niño is here, but it's too little, too late to help the drought.</a> Accessed March 16, 2015.</li></ul><div class="feed-footer-wrapper"><div class="feed-footer"><h3>More from NASA Earth Observatory:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/TournamentEarth/?src=eorss-ann">Tournament Earth: Semifinals - vote now!</a></li><li><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=85582&amp;src=eorss-iotd">In the Aftermath of Cyclone Pam</a></li><li><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=85582&amp;src=eorss-nh">In the Aftermath of Cyclone Pam</a></li><li><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=85576&amp;src=eorss-nh">"V" is for Volcano</a></li><li><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=85567&amp;src=eorss-nh">Wildfires near Chile's Llaima Volcano</a></li></ul></div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-nye-climate-change-solution-2014-11">Bill Nye Reveals Why Climate Change Is So Hard To Stop</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="AxOXZvcTr37R31H5kZhtz25mpv9kUfPu" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

El Nino is heating the ocean around California, but won't deliver the water desperately needed in the state

Climate Action 15: 2024's top global innovators powering green solutions

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-an-atmospheric-river-california-2017-10">Atmospheric rivers</a> are rivers of water vapors low in the Earth's atmosphere.</li><li>They can bring heavy rains or snow to parts of the US, which can lead to flooding.</li></ul><p>In late January and early February, two atmospheric rivers hit the West Coast. They dumped large amounts of rain over Southern California, causing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/life-threatening-rain-floods-mudslides-rip-through-california-2024-2">flooding and mudslides</a> and killing at least nine people, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-06/relentless-rains-continue-to-drench-southern-california">Los Angeles Times reported</a>.</p><p>"An atmospheric river is literally a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/california-river-in-sky-causes-floods-thousands-evacuate-2-dead-2023-3">river of water vapor</a> in the sky," Jason Cordeira, an atmospheric scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, told Business Insider.</p><p>Like rivers on land, they come in different sizes and intensities, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-atmospheric-rivers"><u>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</u></a>. They can stretch over 1,245 miles long and 620 miles wide, carrying more water than a dozen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mississippi-river-dangerously-low-second-year-in-row-army-dredging-2023-9">Mississippi Rivers</a>.</p><p>Below, we answer some FAQs about atmospheric rivers.</p><h2>1. What causes an atmospheric river?</h2><div type="image" title="An infographic showing the science behind atmospheric rivers with a big blue arrow going over water and the coast of California" height="2229" width="3248" msid="107534818" hostid="261" sizebytes="431974"></div><p>Atmospheric rivers form when moisture moves out of the tropics in narrow channels in the atmosphere.</p><p>When they make landfall and meet with large mountain ranges like the Sierra Nevadas in California, they can bring <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/expensive-california-real-estate-spots-threatened-by-rain-flooding-2024-2">heavy rains</a>, snow, and flooding, Cordeira said.</p><p>"Atmospheric rivers don't form by themselves," Cordeira said. They typically develop alongside <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-bomb-cyclone-and-polar-vortex-mean-term-origin-2018-1">extratropical storms</a>.</p><p>These cyclones' cold fronts help accumulate water vapor, which the atmospheric rivers can then transport thousands of miles, Cordeira said, adding that "the east side of ocean basins or the west side of continents are really good locations for these storms."</p><p>That includes California, Oregon, and Washington in the US, as well as parts of Europe, Chile, New Zealand, and Australia. But they can affect the northeastern US too, he added.</p><p>Atmospheric rivers are so common that there are typically between eight and 10 of them over the oceans in the northern and southern<strong> </strong>hemispheres at a time, Cordeira said.</p><h2>2. Do El Niño and La Niña have an affect?</h2><p>Different weather patterns like El Niño and La Niña may make the West Coast more or less likely to see atmospheric rivers, Cordeira said, but it's not necessarily a guarantee.</p><p>For example, 2023 was a La Niña year, when atmospheric rivers are supposed to be less likely. Yet a relatively high number, 46, made landfall on the US's West Coast, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/the-atmospheric-rivers-of-water-year-2023-end-of-water-year-summary/">Scripps Institution of Oceanography</a>.</p><p>"But then there are relatively dry years when very few atmospheric rivers make landfall at all," Cordeira said.</p><h2>3. How long does an atmospheric river last?</h2><p>The average lifecycle of an atmospheric river is between three to seven days, Cordeira said. What usually stops it is rain.</p><p>"Things that remove water vapor from the sky will cause an atmospheric river to die," Cordeira said.</p><div type="image" title="A large wave splashes onto a house on the coast of California during an atmospheric river" height="1500" width="2250" msid="107534820" hostid="261" sizebytes="399510"></div><p>When the rivers run into land masses with big mountains, the mountains cool the air, "and as it cools, it condenses and produces precipitation and it rings out a lot of that rainfall," Cordeira said</p><p>Once the river hits land, it usually rains itself out in about a day, he added.</p><h2>4. Is an atmospheric river like a hurricane?</h2><p>Atmospheric rivers and hurricanes have a few things in common, Cordeira said, but "the processes in the atmosphere that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-hurricanes-why-storms-are-wetter-stronger-slower-2019-7">give rise to a hurricane</a> are different than the processes that give rise to atmospheric rivers."</p><p>Both pull tropical moisture from low latitudes and bring them into higher latitudes, Cordeira said. They can both have heavy rains and high winds, but they're not directly related, he said. "Even though they share some of the same ingredients, they're distant cousins."</p><h2>5. Are atmospheric rivers a new thing?</h2><p>People who grew up in the '90s likely didn't hear much about atmospheric rivers when they were young.</p><p>The phenomenon existed, but the media often <a target="_blank" href="https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/november-30-1995-page-21-91/docview/2365532811/se-2"><u>referred</u></a> to them as a "pineapple express" — a strong atmospheric river that carried moisture from the tropics near Hawaii to the West Coast of the US.</p><p>In 1994, MIT researchers Yong Zhu and Reginald E. Newell published a <a target="_blank" href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/94GL01710"><u>paper</u></a> about "atmospheric rivers and bombs."</p><p>The term has gained widespread use <a target="_blank" href="https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/atmospheric-rivers-rising-interest-in-science-and-the-media/#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Catmospheric%20river%E2%80%9D%20was,transport%20across%20the%20mid%2Dlatitudes"><u>in academic research</u></a> ever since.</p><div type="image" title="The atmospheric river intensity scale with the amount of moisture on the left and duration along the bottom and red squares at the top right showing high moisture and long duration are AR-5, the most hazardous" height="1192" width="2066" msid="107534822" hostid="261" sizebytes="63866"></div><p>Then, in 2019, University of California, San Diego<a target="_blank" href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019JD031205"><u> researchers went one step further and announced</u></a> a new scale for measuring the strength of atmospheric rivers, similar to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-do-hurricane-categories-mean">categories used for hurricanes</a>.</p><p>An atmospheric river gets a rating of AR-1 to AR-5 based on the amount of moisture and the duration of the event with AR-1 being the weakest and least threatening.</p><h2>6. Are there any benefits to atmospheric rivers?</h2><p>Some states depend on atmospheric rivers to prevent droughts.</p><p>"Most droughts in California and on the West Coast of the US actually occur because of a lack of atmospheric rivers making landfall," Cordeira said. The rain or snow can fill reservoirs or add snowpack to mountains.</p><h2>7. Is an atmospheric river due to climate change?</h2><p>It's difficult to attribute the severity of a single weather event to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-weather-biggest-concern-business-leaders-politicians-world-economic-forum-2024-1">the climate crisis</a>. But Cordeira said as the atmosphere and oceans warm, atmospheric rivers will likely contain more moisture.</p><p>"It will most likely be more intense, and it will be a wider storm" because of the increased moisture, he said. The moisture could fall as rain instead of snow, which means there won't be as much water <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ski-season-resorts-struggle-open-global-warming-climate-crisis-2024-1">trickling down from mountains</a> in the summer.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-hottest-year-ever-history-climate-crisis-2024-1">Warmer temperatures</a> could also mean frequent "families" of atmospheric rivers, where two or three events happen one after another, Cordeira said. This happened in early 2024 when two heavy rainfalls drenched Southern California.</p><p>When that happens, it increases the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-flood-prediction-save-lives-climate-change-2023-12">risk of flooding</a>, Cordeira said. Grounds already saturated with water can't absorb more moisture, and swollen rivers can overflow.</p><p>"You can imagine how serious the impacts would be if we had two or three of them back to back," he said.</p>

Atmospheric river: Definition, relationship to hurricanes, potential benefits, and more FAQs answered

<ul><li><strong>Heavy flooding in <keyword id="30033" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bihar">Bihar</keyword> and Assam have taken 166 lives till and affected over 111 million people. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The death toll in Assam rose to 64 and 102 in Bihar as of 21 July 2019. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The weather department has warned of heavy rainfall in the coming two days that may add more misery to the situation.</strong><br /></li></ul>Death toll in flood-affected Bihar and Assam<a href="https://thewire.in/environment/bihar-assam-floods-death-toll"> rose to 166 on Sunday. </a><br /><br />Uncertain weather conditions and heavy flooding in Bihar and Assam have taken 166 lives till and affected over 111 million people. As many as 7.2 million people are affected in Bihar along. Whereas 3.8 million people were affected in Assam. <br /><br />The weather department has warned of heavy rainfall in the coming two days that may add more misery to the situation. The death toll in Assam rose to 64 and 102 in Bihar as of 21 July 2019. <br /><br />According to water resource department, Half a dozen districts of flood-hit north Bihar are likely to receive 90 mm to 135 mm of rainfall in the next 24 hours. <br /><br />"It will certainly increase the water level in rivers and flood situation will worsen,'' a weather official told IANS. <br /><br />Heavy rains are expected to affect parts of Madhubani, <keyword id="6412273" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="sitamarhi">Sitamarhi</keyword>, Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Kisganganj districts. <br /><br />The situation is much similar is the northeastern state of Assam. The flood water continued to affect 2,669 villages, 1.35 lakh hectare of crop lands and over a million <keyword id="6360144" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="wildlife">wildlife</keyword>, <a href="http://www.asdma.gov.in/pdf/flood_report/2019/Daily_Flood_Report_21.07.2019.pdf">according to an Assam government bulletin. </a>So far, 141 animals were reported dead at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. <br /><br />The disaster management department is working aggressively on a rescue operation in both the states.<br /><br />The <keyword id="119446" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Disaster-Response-Force">National Disaster Response Force</keyword> and the State Disaster Response Force have deployed 20 troops in flood affected areas of Bihar. <br /><br />More than one hundred thousand people have been displaced, with over 114,000 taking shelter in 133 relief camps of which 127 have been set up in Sitamarhi, one of the worst flood-hit districts in the state.<br /><br />In Assam, over <a href="http://www.asdma.gov.in/pdf/flood_report/2019/Daily_Flood_Report_21.07.2019.pdf">1,15,389 people are still in 829 relief camps. </a><br /><br />Hundreds of villages have been inundated, forcing people to leave their homes and seek shelter at safer places. <br />

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