"Recurring Kerala landslides expose Western Ghats ecological and governance vulnerabilities"
Orographic rainfall
precipitation caused when moisture-laden winds are forced upward by a mountain barrier, cooling and condensing.
Soil-rock interface failure
the mechanism by which water accumulating between loose soil and underlying bedrock reduces friction and triggers landslides.
Landslides are India's second most frequent natural hazard in hilly terrain after floods, affecting approximately 13% of India's total landmass (~0.42 million sq km). Risk is concentrated in two physiographic zones: the Himalayan arc (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, northeastern states, Sikkim) and the Western Ghats (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa). Within the Western Ghats, Kerala — particularly its central and northern districts of Idukki, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Kozhikode, and Malappuram — accounts for a disproportionately high share of landslide fatalities relative to the total number of events recorded, as documented in the ISRO National Remote Sensing Centre's Landslide Atlas (2023), which catalogued events from 1998 to 2022.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 provides the overarching legal framework, establishing the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at the apex (chaired by the Prime Minister), State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) at the state level (chaired by Chief Ministers), and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) at the district level. India is also a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, whose Target G calls for universal access to multi-hazard early warning systems by 2030. Despite these frameworks, a nationally operationalised landslide early warning system remains absent, and the governance gap between policy intent and on-ground preparedness continues to cost lives.
Landslides result from the interplay of two broad factor sets: preparatory factors (geology, slope gradient, soil type, land-use history) that create inherent susceptibility, and triggering factors (intense rainfall, earthquakes, anthropogenic disturbance) that initiate slope failure. In Kerala's Western Ghats, the terrain has a distinctive two-layer structure — a layer of loose, weathered soil sitting atop hard crystalline rock. During prolonged or intense rainfall, water infiltrates the soil and accumulates at the soil-rock interface, reducing the frictional bond between the two layers. When this bond weakens sufficiently, the overlying soil mass detaches and moves downslope rapidly, often as a debris flow.
The meteorological mechanism amplifying this risk is well understood. The Western Ghats act as an orographic barrier to the southwest monsoon, forcing moisture-laden Arabian Sea winds upward and generating intense precipitation on the windward (western) slopes. Compounding factors include offshore troughs, strong southwesterly low-level jets, and steep north-south pressure gradients along the west coast — the precise combination that drove the August 2025 event. …
Consider the following pairs:
Hills : Region
1.Cardamom Hills : Coromandel Coast
2.Kaimur Hills : Konkan Coast
3.Mahadeo Hills : Central India
4.Mikir Hills : North-East India
Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements:
1.The winds which blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
2.The moist air masses that cause winter rains in North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to landslide vulnerability in India, consider the following statements:
1.Kerala accounts for a disproportionately high share of Western Ghats landslide fatalities relative to the total number of events recorded.
2.The ISRO National Remote Sensing Centre's Landslide Atlas covers events recorded between 1998 and 2022.
3.The Himalayan region records fewer total landslide events than the Western Ghats.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements about the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Gadgil Committee) and the High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats (Kasturirangan Committee):
1.The Gadgil Committee recommended strict regulation of mining, quarrying, and large construction projects in ecologically sensitive areas.
2.The Kasturirangan Committee proposed a larger Ecologically Sensitive Area than the Gadgil Committee.
3.Multiple states objected to the Gadgil Committee's recommendations, leading to the constitution of the Kasturirangan Committee.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, which of the following is the correct description of Target G?
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