Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A necessary brake: On altered weather patterns and infrastructure development

A necessary brake: On altered weather patterns and infrastructure development

Haphazard development is increasing the impact of weather events

Being an El Niño (an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling) year, the expectation was that north India would see a sparse (insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry) monsoon. However, the pendulum (oscillating situation) has swung the other way. July saw record rainfall in many parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand and the rare sight of the Yamuna nearly spilling into the Red Fort in Delhi. At least 150 were killed and losses worth ₹10,000 crore were reported by Himachal Pradesh alone. The worst, however, was yet to come as the week saw multiple floods in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand that have claimed (दावा करना) at least 60 lives since Sunday. A series of landslides (भूस्खलन) has crumbled (टुकड़े टुकड़े होना) buildings and blocked highways. The immediate explanation for the landslides is the unexpectedly copious (प्रचुर, अधिक) rainfall that these States have received and that these in turn (बदले में, परिणामस्वरूप) are due to (इस कारण) a surfeit (excess, abundance; too much, more than enough) of Western Disturbances (WD) (पश्चिमी विक्षोभ). These are tropical storms (तूफान, आंधी) that originate in the Mediterranean region and normally bring winter rainfall to north India. However, right from the beginning of this year, the WD have been erratic (अनियमित, अप्रत्याशित). There were too few (बहुत कम, पर्याप्त नहीं) of them in December and January and their absence was cause for the hottest February recorded in India in at least a century. However, the WD appear to be overcompensating (overdo, overstretch, overreach, over-correct, overpay, go to extremes, compensate excessively) for their absence, with several of them incident (घटित होना) over north India in the last two months — a time when they normally should not be around. While a combination of WD and monsoon can be dismissed (disregard, ignore, reject, deny, shrug off, pass over, put aside) as ‘freak (unusual, atypical, irregular, abnormal, unexpected, unanticipated, unpredictable)’ weather, climate scientists have been warning of the increasing probability (संभावना, अनुमान) of such high-risk events. The awry (uneven, lopsided, asymmetrical, off-centre, skewed, misaligned) WD are in part (partially, somewhat, to a certain extent/degree) due to a warming Arctic that causes the polar jet stream (it is a river-like current (steady flow) of air circulating across the globe at upper levels of the troposphere (near the altitude (height) of 30,000 feet)), which carries moisture (नमी, सीलन), to deviate from its regular path and bring the disturbances (अशांति, गड़बड़ी) to north India during the monsoon.

It is in the context (situation, scenario, backdrop) of these altered weather patterns that warnings by scientists and environmentalists of the perils (danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty) of wanton (deliberate, groundless, senseless, unjustifiable, purposeless, pointless, useless, meaningless, senseless, uncalled for, arbitrary) construction in the Himalayas must be factored in (consider, take into consideration, take into account, be mindful of, bear in mind). The ongoing (continuing, happening, occurring, in progress, under way, going on, developing) Char Dham (the four preeminent Hindu pilgrimage sites (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) in the Himalayas in the State of Uttarakhand) road building project has led to large-scale altering of the mountains with significant chunks (a significant/large amount of something; a thick, solid piece of something) carved away (cut away, chip away, take away, remove), rendering (make, cause to be, cause to become) them vulnerable (ill-protected, exposed, easily affected by, at risk of; susceptible to, liable to, prone to, open to) to upheaval (disruption, turmoil, disorder, chaos, mayhem). As recent fears of land subsidence (collapse, caving/falling in, sinking) in Joshimath, Uttarakhand demonstrated, ill-thought construction and haphazard (random, unsystematic, unplanned, unmethodical, disorganized, disorderly, irregular, careless, casual) building practices have magnified (increase, raise, intensify, heighten, escalate, amplify) the risk to residents who live in these regions. While State governments tend to (like, favour, prefer, wish (for), gravitate, lean towards, incline towards) search for short-term solutions such as demanding compensation from the Centre for ‘disaster relief ((financial) help, aid, assistance, succour)’, it is time that more serious thought is given to the nature of infrastructure development and, if need be, restrictions imposed (put a restriction in place; apply, enforce, force, inflict, thrust) in the larger interest (common concerns (in politics/business)) of minimising hazards (danger, risk, peril, problem, difficulty) and maintaining stability (steadiness, firmness, solidity, secureness, strength).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.infrastructure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बुनियादी ढांचा
English Meaning - the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.

2.claim (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दावा करना
English Meaning - cause/result in the loss of, take.

3.landslide (noun)

Hindi Meaning - भूस्खलन
English Meaning - a landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity; landslip, rockfall, mudslide, earthfall/slip.

4.crumble (verb)

Hindi Meaning - टुकड़े टुकड़े होना
English Meaning - collapse, fall down, disintegrate, fall apart, break down.

5.copious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - प्रचुर, अधिक
English Meaning - (of rain) severe, heavy, torrential, relentless.

6.in turn (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - बदले में, परिणामस्वरूप
English Meaning - successively.

7.due to (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - इस कारण
English Meaning - because of, owing to, on account of, as a result of.

8.Western Disturbances (WD) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पश्चिमी विक्षोभ
English Meaning - it is an extra-tropical storm which originates in the Mediterranean region. The disturbance travels from the “western” to the eastern direction. A WD is associated with rainfall, snowfall and fog in northern India. Upon its arrival in northern India, clouds along with rain and snow also arrive. The moisture which WDs carry with them comes from the Mediterranean Sea and/or from the Atlantic Ocean.

9.storm (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तूफान, आंधी
English Meaning - it refers to low pressure.

10.erratic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनियमित, अप्रत्याशित
English Meaning - unpredictable, varying, uncertain, irregular, fluctuant, unreliable.

11.too few (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - बहुत कम, पर्याप्त नहीं
English Meaning - not enough.

12.incident (verb)

Hindi Meaning - घटित होना
English Meaning - happen, occur.

13.probability (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संभावना, अनुमान
English Meaning - chance, possibility, likelihood, probable event.

14.moisture (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नमी, सीलन
English Meaning - the amount of water vapour present in the air; condensation, water vapour, cloudiness.

15.disturbance (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अशांति, गड़बड़ी
English Meaning - it means an area of “disturbed” or reduced air pressure.

16.brake (verb)

English Meaning - curb, check, control, restriction, constraint, restraint, limitation.

17.haphazard (adjective)

English Meaning - random, unsystematic, unplanned, unmethodical, disorganized, disorderly, irregular, careless, casual.

18.El Nino (noun)

English Meaning - an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling.

19.sparse (adjective)

English Meaning - insufficient, inadequate, scanty, meagre, paltry.

20.pendulum (noun)

English Meaning - oscillating situation.

21.swing (verb)

English Meaning - change, shift, switch, oscillate, fluctuate.

22.spill into (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - spread in large amounts, flow out, overflow.

23.surfeit (noun)

English Meaning - excess, abundance; too much, more than enough.

24.extra-tropical (adjective)

English Meaning - it means outside the tropic.

25.overcompensate (verb)

English Meaning - overdo, overstretch, overreach, over-correct, overpay, go to extremes, compensate excessively.

26.dismiss (verb)

English Meaning - disregard, ignore, reject, deny, shrug off, pass over, put aside.

27.freak (adjective)

English Meaning - unusual, atypical, irregular, abnormal, unexpected, unanticipated, unpredictable.

28.awry (adjective)

English Meaning - uneven, lopsided, asymmetrical, off-centre, skewed, misaligned.

29.in part (phrase)

English Meaning - partially, somewhat, to a certain extent/degree.

30.jet stream (noun)

English Meaning - it is a river-like current (steady flow) of air circulating across the globe at upper levels of the troposphere (near the altitude (height) of 30,000 feet).

31.polar jet stream (noun)

English Meaning - it is a fast-moving belt of westerly winds that traverses the lower layers of the atmosphere. The jet is created by the convergence of cold air masses descending from the Arctic and rising warm air from the tropics.

32.context (noun)

English Meaning - situation, scenario, backdrop.

33.peril (noun)

English Meaning - danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty.

34.wanton (adjective)

English Meaning - deliberate, groundless, senseless, unjustifiable, purposeless, pointless, useless, meaningless, senseless, uncalled for, arbitrary.

35.factor in (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - consider, take into consideration, take into account, be mindful of, bear in mind.

36.ongoing (adjective)

English Meaning - continuing, happening, occurring, in progress, under way, going on, developing.

37.Char Dham (noun)

English Meaning - the four preeminent Hindu pilgrimage sites (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) in the Himalayas in the State of Uttarakhand.

38.led past participle of lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

39.chunk (noun)

English Meaning - a significant/large amount of something; a thick, solid piece of something.

40.carve away (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - cut away, chip away, take away, remove.

41.render (verb)

English Meaning - make, cause to be, cause to become.

42.vulnerable (adjective)

English Meaning - ill-protected, exposed, easily affected by, at risk of; susceptible to, liable to, prone to, open to.

43.upheaval (noun)

English Meaning - disruption, turmoil, disorder, chaos, mayhem.