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What is the news?
A two-day meet on the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river basins recently begun in New Delhi.
It was jointly organised by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Hydrological experts from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and scientists from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China are attending the meet.
What is the significance of the meet?
The meeting is being held towards the development of a Hydrological SOS system by India and its neighboring countries sharing the trans-boundary Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basins.
During the two-day meet, the international experts will prepare a concept plan for the proposed Hydromet SOS.
About Hydromet SOS
It will be a trans-boundary, round-the-year, early warning system to share data on reservoirs, rivers and dam waters. It will cover major flood plains caused by trans-boundary flowing rivers.
Objective: to mitigate water hazards like floods, droughts, mudslides and accelerated erosion.
Need: Trans-boundary rivers originating outside India cause massive flooding in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh during the monsoon season. For instance: the unregulated left bank rivers of the Ganga–Ghandak, Kosi and Ghaghra and the Brahmaputra, pose serious flooding threats every year in India.
According to CWC reports, India has suffered an annual loss of Rs 6,000 crore every year between 1953 and 2000.
| In October 2019, the South Asian Flash Flood Warning system was launched by India. This system has been sending warnings six hours ahead of likely flash flooding. The IMD’s hydrometeorological division sends alerts and advisories for India, Nepal, Sri lanka, Bhutan and Bangladesh. |
About GBM basin
The GBM river basin system cuts across five countries – India, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Source: This post is based on the article “South Asian countries plan SOS system for hydrological mangement of Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin” published in The Indian Express on 22nd Nov 2021.
