Field Site
Bihar, India
The Megha Climate Collaborative study will be implemented in rural Bihar, which is India’s most flood-prone state [Water Resource Department, Government of Bihar, 2007]. The state has one of the lowest literacy and highest poverty rates in India with a poverty headcount ratio of 53.5% [Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, 2011]. North Bihar covering about 26,000 sq. km is the most flood-prone. Several area rivers have steep slopes and high silt charges in the upper reaches which exert enormous pressure on the embankments. These rivers also receive substantial rainfall (average 1170 to 1580 mm) during the monsoon season, resulting in discharges of 80 to 90 times more than the mean. Climate change is expected to worsen this situation, and the area has been identified as a priority for adaptation investments [Department of Science and Technology, 2019-20].
Darbhanga, Bihar
Darbhanga is an important district in North Bihar, situated in the fertile, alluvial plains between the lower ranges of the Himalayas and the river Ganges. The Megha Climate Collaborative is being implemented in select flood-prone blocks of Darbhanga district, located in the basin of the river Koshi (Figure 2). In 2007, around 29 per cent of the area in these districts was inundated by floods of medium to severe intensity. Handpumps, the major source of water in both districts, are constructed on the ground and as a result, get submerged during floods [Kumar et al., 2015], worsening the water crisis. In 2021, Darbhanga received 111 per cent excess rainfall and was ravaged by floods that washed away toilets and water infrastructure.
Floods between 2015-2024
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