It Starts with a Drought

Kaalavastha: Kerala Podcast

Over the past 5 years, the annual monsoons in Kerala have been changing dramatically. Climate change has brought with it rainfall deficits, severe heat waves, rare cyclone events, droughts, and more all of which have impacted the lives and livelihoods in the state. Then came the devastating floods of 2018. The worst floods seen in nearly a century washed away precious lives, property, resources and cultural memories. However, the floods also brought with it an incredible surge of humanity, as Keralites and people from all over the world came together to respond to immediate needs. The floods of 2019 were just as ferocious, underscoring the unpredictable nature of climate. Join us as we find out how Kerala is reckoning with this history of climate change to build back to be resilient to future disaster events.

Thanks to Professor Abhilash, Bala Menon, Heather Fernandes, Illika Sahu, Sreedevi Pillai, Sobha Viswanath and Viju B. Kaalavastha is narrated by Radhika Viswanathan. It is researched, written and produced by Radhika Viswanathan and Samyuktha Varma. Erwick D’souza composed the music.

Attributions:

Licensed from Freesound.org under Creative Commons Attribution License: "Rain, Moderate, C.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk). “Waterfall” Straget. Licensed from Freesound.org under Creative Commons Noncomnmercial, Attribution License: “Drizzle” by Soundatic.