Trisha Chakraborty

The unique geographical diversity and rapid urbanization across the Indian subcontinent give rise to large-scale spatiotemporal variations in urban heating and air emissions. The complex relationship between geophysical parameters and anthropogenic activity is vital in understanding the urban environment. This study analyses the characteristics of heating events using aerosol optical depth (AOD) level variability, across 43 urban agglomerations (UAs) with populations of a million or more, along with 13 industrial districts (IDs), and 14 biosphere reserves (BRs) in the Indian sub-continent. Pre-monsoon average surface heating was highest in the urban areas of the western (42 °C), central (41.9 °C), and southern parts (40 °C) of the Indian subcontinent. High concentration of AOD in the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain including the megacity: Kolkata (decadal average 0.708) was noted relative to other UAs over time. The statistically significant negative correlation (−0.51) betw...

The unique geographical diversity and rapid urbanization across the Indian subcontinent give rise to large-scale spatiotemporal variations in urban heating and air emissions. The complex relationship between geophysical parameters and anthropogenic activity is vital in understanding the urban environment. This study analyses the characteristics of heating events using aerosol optical depth (AOD) level variability, across 43 urban agglomerations (UAs) with populations of a million or more, along with 13 industrial districts (IDs), and 14 biosphere reserves (BRs) in the Indian subcontinent. Pre-monsoon average surface heating was highest in the urban areas of the western (42 C), central (41.9 C), and southern parts (40 C) of the Indian subcontinent. High concentration of AOD in the eastern part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain including the megacity: Kolkata (decadal average 0.708) was noted relative to other UAs over time. The statistically significant negative correlation (􀀀0.51) between land surface temperature (LST) and AOD in urban areas during pre-monsoon time illustrates how aerosol loading impacts the surface radiation and has a net effect of reducing surface temperatures. Notable interannual variability was noted with, the pre-monsoon LST dropping in 2020 across most of the selected urban regions (approx. 89% urban clusters) while it was high in 2019 (for approx. 92% urban clusters) in the pre-monsoon season. The results indicate complex variability and correlations between LST and urban aerosol at large scales across the Indian subcontinent. These large-scale observations suggest a need for more in-depth analysis at city scales to understand the interplay and combined variability between physical and anthropogenic atmospheric parameters in mesoscale and microscale climates.

Abstract In the last few decades, the eastern coast of India happened to be highly conducive for the growth of aquacultural farms, which ultimately led to unplanned alteration of these already vulnerable landscapes thereby posing considerable threats to the regional environment. In particular, the Digha-Junput coastal stretch of Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal was highly transformed by aquacultural farms of local elites recognizing the escalated market demand of crustacean resources in both local and international markets. In this regard, the study chiefly tries to map and estimate the growth patterns of aquafarming in association with other land use/ land covers of this region using object-based fragmentation statistics and landscape metrics derived from geospatial techniques and community appraisals. In addition, the changing spatial concentration of the aquafarms, both fresh and brackish water, was also assessed from the coast to inland with respect to distance buffers. A set of multi-temporal Landsat images (1988−2018) had been applied for this purpose. The results clearly depicted that coastal wetlands, natural vegetated areas and agricultural lands had become fragmented, shrunken, and eventually isolated as a result of intensification of brackish water aquafarms. Proliferation of these farms had resulted in habitat modification, increased salinization and development of monopolistic export-oriented economy, which further jeopardized environmental sustenance in a larger perspective. The coastal ecology witnessed massive degeneration leading to gradual obliteration of the natural habitat of native biota as well as its hitherto sustainable agroecosystems. Over-dependence on shrimp monoculture had also caused loss of agro-employment opportunities thereby triggering notable out-migration of regional male workforce. In order to mitigate this alarming situation, several recommendations had been forwarded towards sustainably managing these fragile landscapes.

Climate is one of the characteristics that distinguish one type of tourism from another. Climate data should be evaluated as an important resource for the tourism industry, and because climate data is multifaceted, quantitative tools are required to identify climate suitability in tourism. The current study looks into whether or not tourists base their decision to visit a destination, particularly a metropolitan city, on the weather. Mieczkwski's (1985) Tourism Climate Index (TCI) and Tang's (2013) Holiday Climate Index (HCI) were used to assess the effects of climate on tourism in Kolkata, a metropolitan city. With its rich cultural heritage, breathtaking leisure parks, and enthralling architecture, Kolkata, the city of joy, attracts visitors from all over the world. The primary focus of this research is the compatibility of the final tourist report (2014-2015) (latest report of West Bengal Tourism), which provides domestic and foreign tourist data, and monthly TCI and HCI scores (April 2014-March 2015), which range from ideal to extremely unfavourable. According to the findings of the current study, tourists who chose a metropolitan city as a tourist destination did so for reasons other than climate suitability.