Delhi’s blue blanket shrinking, urban growth to blame, study finds | Latest Delhi News

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Blue cover in the capital has declined significantly over a 15-year period between 2000 and 2015, satellite analysis shows, noting that the area under water bodies has shrunk by 14% in the 0-20km radius from the center -city, and 23% in the 20-50 km radius.

The American non-profit research organization World Resources Institute (WRI), in a study titled Urban Blue-Green Conundrum: A 10-City Study of the Impacts of Urbanization on Natural Infrastructure in India, found that the Delhi’s blue coverage has largely declined due to an increase in built-up area from 1,216 sq km in 2000 to 1,961 sq km in 2015.

The blue coverage, however, fell from 36 km² in 2000 to 22 km² in 2015 in the 0-20 km radius, while in the 20-50 km radius it fell from 67 km² in 2000 to 44 km² in 2015. , shows the study. While the 0-20 km radius covers 1,256 km2 in Delhi, a total of 6,596 km2 is covered in the 20-50 km radius.

The study, which selected India’s 10 most populous cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Surat – which account for around a third of India’s urban population India, used open-source, high-resolution satellite imagery to study the evolution of city agglomeration.

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Between 2000 and 2015, the built-up area in these 10 cities increased by an average of 47% and 134% within 020 km of the city center (center) and 2050 km (periphery), respectively. Simultaneously, blue coverage decreased by 15%, according to the analysis, which was carried out by WRI researchers Sahana Goswami, Samrat Basak, Aakash Malik and Raj Bhagat Palanichamy.

The study also found that this increase in built-up area also reduced Delhi’s groundwater recharge potential during this period, with 169 million liters per day (mld) of groundwater recharge lost to the development. However, the population increased by 8,817,771 over the same period, increasing Delhi’s water demand by 882 million per day.

Sahana Goswami, Senior Program Manager with Water Resilience Practice at WRI India, and one of the study’s lead authors, said that of those 169bn, about 125bn was lost in the areas. where there was high recharge potential, indicating that even minimal measures could have ensured that recharge continued.

Urban areas like Delhi and its surrounding regions continue to be major economic hubs. This study shows us that the loss of natural infrastructure such as surface water bodies and potential groundwater areas is closely linked to current forms of urban development and significantly increases the water-related vulnerabilities of our cities. . Preserving and restoring our natural infrastructure and integrating nature-based solutions and blue-green infrastructure in cities can be a crucial step to help increase the resilience of urban regions and provide a buffer against shocks. extreme weather caused by climate change, she said.

To repair this long-term damage, the study suggests developing maps comparing current and historical satellite images to assess the available natural infrastructure and its changes. Based on the results, corrective actions such as the protection and revitalization of these resources can be taken. It further suggests integrating hydrogeological aspects into urban planning.

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Hydrogeology must become an integral part of urban planning exercises. A few examples have now emerged in urban India (Delhi and Mumbai) where development authorities have explicitly included natural or blue-green infrastructure in city and regional development plans (Delhi Development Authority 2021; Mumbai Metropolitan Planning Committee 2021) , according to the study.

Samrat Basak, Director, Urban Water, at WRI, said: “As India continues to urbanise, we are at a crossroads on whether we continue to build on existing models and lock in various trends. negative for decades with the added burden of climate change, or are we rapidly moving towards new paths of eco-cities where economy and ecology are valued equally.

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