The devastating landslides in Wayanad that left over 400 dead and over 100 still missing shocked not just Kerala but the entire country. Almost immediately, a blame game began – Union Home Minister Amit Shah said adequate warning had been given to Kerala, but the government of Kerala disputes this – it said the warning came after the landslide had occurred. Experts in the meantime have pointed to a number of factors that could have acted as the trigger, including the 570 mm of rainfall received in the region on July 30 and 31st. The tragedy has also brought back into the news the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, led by Madhav Gadgil, whose report in 2011 recommended that the entire region of the Western Ghats – 1,29,000 sq km across six States be declared an ecologically sensitive zone. The report recommended three zones for ecologically sensitive areas, with strict restrictions on development activities in the first two. This report generated backlash from the States as it would significantly impact livelihoods and economic growth.

Following the landslide, the Central government brought out, for the sixth time in 10 years — a draft notification classifying parts of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive areas. Concerns of the States are now to be addressed by a separate committee.

What were the actual triggers of the landslide? How are the Western Ghats and other hilly regions in India particularly vulnerable? How much of a role has climate change played and will this continue in the near future? What can be done to make modelling and prediction systems better?

Guest: Raghu Murtugudde is a professor of climate studies, IIT Bombay, and an emeritus professor, University of Maryland.

Host: Zubeda Hamid

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian