Coast & Islands
Reaching an Indian island is a capacity problem before it is a permit problem
The Andamans and Lakshadweep are governed differently, sit in different seas and share one constraint…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
Shorelines and islands, and the monsoon calendar that governs them.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
Coast & Islands
India’s two coasts get their rain months apart, and that decides where to be when
One monsoon arriving from the southwest and a second one retreating across the Bay give the west and the southeast almost opposite wet seasons.
Coast & Islands
Goa’s beaches are rebuilt every year and the shacks tell you which season it is
Temporary structures come down before the monsoon because the sea takes the sand away and brings it back…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
The cyclone season on the Bay of Bengal comes in two parts
Storms cluster before and after the monsoon rather than during it, and the difference between a warning and…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
The flat patch between the waves is the current that pulls people out
Rip currents form where water pushed onshore finds a channel back to sea, and they look like the calmest…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
The fishing fleet stops for the monsoon and the whole coast changes with it
A seasonal ban on mechanised fishing along both seaboards empties the harbours for weeks, and everything…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
In the mangrove delta the tide is the timetable and nothing else is
Boat travel through the Sundarbans and similar tidal forests is governed by water depth in the creeks…
· 3 min read
Coast & Islands
India’s coastal lagoons fill with migratory birds in the cold months
Brackish shallow water behind a sand bar produces exactly the feeding conditions that waterbirds need in…
· 3 min read
Coast & Islands
The west coast railway was hard to build because every river reaches the sea there
A narrow strip between the escarpment and the Arabian Sea is crossed by dozens of short, steep rivers and…
· 3 min read
Coast & Islands
Tidal range varies enormously around India and it decides what a shore looks like
The gulfs of the northwest have some of the largest tides in the country while much of the peninsular coast…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
On several Indian coasts the ferry is public transport, not a boat trip
Harbour and backwater crossings run as ordinary scheduled services carrying commuters, scooters and…
· 4 min read
Coast & Islands
Indian beaches are made of different things and it shows in the sand
Coral, granite, volcanic rock, river silt and mineral deposits all produce shorelines, and what a beach is…
· 4 min read