Climate Catastrophes: Analyzing the Impact of Changing Landscape of Yamuna Floodplains on Livelihood of Women

Floodplains are vital ecosystems that provide natural flood control and support diverse wildlife in urban areas.Due to urbanization, pollution, and habitat destruction, their ecological integrity and resilience is compromised.In the context of climate change, the sudden inundations are a hurdle to social and economic growth of women from marginalized communities who depend on these resources for their livelihood and bear a disproportionate burden of these impacts.The recent flooding event of July 2023 in Delhi, has set the new HFL (Highest Flood Level) as 208.66 m in Yamuna River.The aim of this research is to analyze the situation of a recent flood and its impact on women living in lowlying areas of Yamuna floodplains to identify the issues related to their existence.The methods adopted for the study involved conducting a qualitative survey of women living in the flood-affected areas and mapping the land use land cover (LULC) in two stretches of floodplains to identify the impact of recurring floods on the agricultural communities due to unplanned development.The study highlighted that the various infrastructure projects have altered the terrain in floodplains of Yamuna River over the years that are responsible for changing course of the river and yearly floods in the area.The findings of the survey associated the changing climatic pattern in the region in the last 20 years with survival threats to the most vulnerable group i.e. women and cattle in these Urban agricultural societies.This study opens the path for future research to inform policy-makers to formulate stringent policies and regulations in order to control the unplanned development in the floodplains and building resilience to ecologically sensitive areas.