With reference to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) guidelines, discuss the measures to be adopted to mitigate the impact of recent incidents of cloudbursts in many places of Uttarakhand.

Theme

T32 Cloudbursts & extreme rainfall

What UPSC asks in this theme

GS1 and GS3 both ask the mechanism of cloudbursts, recent examples, and NDMA measures for the Himalayas (Uttarakhand).

What to cover

• Mechanism: orographic lifting, moisture convergence, sudden release
• Examples: Kedarnath 2013, Himachal and Uttarakhand events
• Mitigation: Doppler radar, early warning, land-use zoning, river-bank regulation

Writing the answer

• Mechanism → recent example → NDMA-based measures

These notes are for the whole theme, built from all 3 of its PYQs. UPSC does not publish model answers.