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From The Marginlands

From The Marginlands

Written by: Prem & Arati
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From The Marginlands with Prem and Arati takes unabashed deep-dives into uncomfortable environmental issues. We converse with carefully curated guests on the art of telling stories about the environment and on climate change as it manifests around the world.

© 2026 From The Marginlands Nature & Ecology Science Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Oceans Are Absorbing Heat Equal To 12 Hiroshimas Every Second: Implications are HUGE

    Oceans Are Absorbing Heat Equal To 12 Hiroshimas Every Second: Implications are HUGE
    Sep 9 2026
    In this wide-ranging conversation with Arati (Prem was out sick, sadly), Dr. Roxy Koll explains why climate change is no longer a distant, gradual phenomenon but an accelerating cascade of interconnected risks. They discuss El Niño and monsoon dynamics to extreme rainfall, Himalayan hazards, sea-level rise, urban heat, forest-driven rainfall recycling, climate-sensitive disease, agriculture, and the communication gap between science, policy, and the public.SHOWNOTES:Dengue, rainfall and a changing monsoonDr. Koll previews research connecting dengue incidence in Kerala with climate and monsoon variability. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39837878/ The 2025 paper co-authored by Koll. It reports climate–dengue associations in Pune, including lag times of roughly 2–5 months that could support anticipatory intervention.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/research/climate-dengue/ The danger we underestimate: speedThe central warning: climate change is unfolding faster than governments, infrastructure, monitoring systems, and ordinary people can adapt. Extreme events are no longer distant risks; they are life-changing disruptions.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/research/future-indian-ocean/ Climate change is acceleratingIt is not simply that warming and extreme rainfall are increasing. The rate of intensification is itself increasing—especially since the late 20th century and even more strongly after 2000.How the Pacific controls weather far awayWhy should warming in the Pacific affect India? The Pacific’s vast scale and its ability to store heat make it a major driver of global atmospheric circulation.Trade winds, upwelling and El NiñoDr. Koll explains normal Pacific conditions: easterly trade winds push warm surface water toward Asia, while cold, nutrient-rich water upwells near the Americas, supporting fisheries.El Niño and La Niña, simply explainedThe ocean as Earth’s heat reservoirOceans absorb most of the surplus heat caused by greenhouse-gas emissions. Their immense depth and heat capacity allow them to store warming for centuries, locking in climate consequences long after emissions decline.Stronger El Niños in a hotter worldThe discussion considers why recent El Niño events appear unusually intense, why scientists remain careful about attribution, and why existing vocabulary often struggles to convey unprecedented extremes.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/research/ocean-atmosphere-coupling/ A startling measure of ocean heatDr. Koll uses the Hiroshima-bomb analogy to convey the scale of excess heat absorbed by the world’s oceans every second—and what that accumulated heat means for corals, fish, acidification, and marine ecosystems.From El Niño to India’s monsoonThe monsoon is part of the wider tropical circulation. In El Niño conditions, weakened trade winds can weaken monsoon flow, reducing seasonal rainfall over India.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/research/enso-monsoon/How do El Nino years link to Indian Monsoons?https://www.climate.rocksea.org/images/climate/iitm_aismr_monsoon_enso_1871_2025.pngWeak monsoon, extreme rainA crucial distinction: below-normal monsoon rainfall can coexist with cloudbursts and severe local flooding. Warmer air holds more moisture, allowing short-lived systems to dump extraordinary amounts of rain.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/research/widespread-extreme-rainfall-india/ What 1,000 mm of rain really meansA practical rainfall lesson: 1 mm of rain over 1 sq m equals 1 litre of water. Scale that to 1,000 mm across a hillside, city, or roof, and the destructive force becomes easier to grasp.Infrastructure built for yesterday’s climateHeavy rain, slope failures, forest loss, and the Mumbai–Pune corridor illustrate how roads, tunnels, hillsides, and urban systems often fail to account for future climate extremes.Sea-level rise beyond the headlineA few millimetres a year may sound trivial, but on low-gradient coasts they translate into substantial land loss. Local sea-level rise varies across the Indian coastline.Why seas are risingThe two dominant causes are melting land ice and thermal expansion: as seawater absorbs heat, it expands. Indian Ocean warming is especially important for regional sea-level rise.Subsidence, saltwater and storm surgeSea-level risk is compounded where land is sinking, groundwater is extracted, and deltas are fragile. Higher baseline seas make cyclones, tides, and storm surges more damaging—and saltwater can destroy agricultural land for years.Climate impacts outlast one seasonDelayed monsoons affect sowing, rabi crops, stubble burning, air pollution, household debt, education, food systems, and the wider economy.https://www.climate.rocksea.org/images/climate/Roxy_2025_Monsoon_Water_Changing_Climate.pdf -- perhaps the closest single companion reading to this episode, spanning monsoon change, water security, extreme rain, climate-sensitive disease, and adaptationContact us:Email the PodcastArati Kumar-Rao on ...
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    2 hrs and 12 mins
  • Assam's Floods (once a boon) Are So Destructive Now - Why? Arupjyoti Saikia Explains

    Assam's Floods (once a boon) Are So Destructive Now - Why? Arupjyoti Saikia Explains
    Aug 18 2026
    Assam’s July floods were explained as a consequence of heavy rainfall. That is true, but incomplete. Historian Arupjyoti Saikia joins us to uncover the much longer history behind the catastrophe: the earthquakes that transformed the Brahmaputra, the failed embankment experiment, changing sediment, dams and extraction in the highlands, erased wetlands, and a political economy built around flood control and relief. We discuss why a single river basin is governed in fragments; whether climate change is becoming an alibi for destructive decisions, and what farmers, graziers and fisherwomen understand about the river that technocratic planning does not.ABOUT US:Arati Kumar Rao on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aratikumarrao/Arati on Substack: https://aratikumarrao.substack.com/Prem Panicker on X: https://x.com/prempanickerPrem on Substack: https://prempanicker.substack.com/Our email: marginlands @gmail.com ARUPJYOTI SAIKIA'S BOOKS: 1. The Unquiet River: A biography of the Brahmaputra: https://www.amazon.in/UNQUIET-RIVER-C-Arupjyoti-Saikia/dp/0199468117/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-12. The Quest for Modern Assam: A History (1942-2000): https://www.amazon.in/Quest-Modern-Assam-History-1942-2000-ebook/dp/B0CD824NQB/?_encoding=UTF83. Forests and Ecological History of Assam, 1826–2000: https://www.amazon.in/Forests-Ecological-History-Assam-1826-2000-ebook/dp/B0746LGL51/?_encoding=UTF84. India’s Forests: Revisiting Nature and History (with Mahesh Rangarajan): https://www.amazon.in/Indias-Forests-Revisiting-Nature-History-ebook/dp/B0GMH7F4QZ/?_encoding=UTF85. A Century of Protests: Peasant Politics in Assam Since 1900: https://www.amazon.in/Century-Protests-Peasant-Politics-Assam/dp/0415811945/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-16. Jungles, Reserves, Wildlife: A history of forests in Assam: https://www.ovid.com/jnls/coas/fulltext/01370234-200503020-00014~jungles-reserves-wildlife-a-history-of-forests-in-assam SELECTED WRITINGSMaking sense of Assam floods: Why rivers turned violent in the 20th century — Arupjyoti Saikia and Jagdish Krishnaswamy: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/making-sense-of-assam-floods-why-rivers-turned-violent-in-the-20th-century-8010362/Jute in the Brahmaputra Valley: The Making of Flood Control in Twentieth-Century Assam: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/jute-in-the-brahmaputra-valley-the-making-of-flood-control-in-twentiethcentury-assam/4AF82003858518B8FBDE6E7C9CBEAB5FFlood Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation and Technological Lock-In in Assam: https://ecoinsee.org/journal/ojs/index.php/ees/article/view/150Nature and Assam’s Present: https://www.india-seminar.com/2017/690/690_arupjyoti_saikia.htmEcology, Floods and the Political Economy of Hydropower: https://pmml.nic.in/downloadSeries/121Assam floods aren't just about Brahmaputra: https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/assam-floods-arent-just-about-the-brahmaputra-10834633/Making sense of Assam floods (with Jagdish Krishnaswamy): https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/making-sense-of-assam-floods-why-rivers-turned-violent-in-the-20th-century-8010362/WATCH AND LISTENThe Unquiet River: Brahmaputra: https://bengaluru.sciencegallery.com/submerge/confluence/arupjyoti-saikiaGold Washers, Fishermen and Boatmen: Was There a Pre-modern Life of the Brahmaputra?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Ib1Tgtm8AThe Quest for Modern Assam (Asian Review of Books): https://megaphone.link/NSR3351490911RELATED READINGEngineering a season of floods (Amitangshu Acharya, LiveMint): https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/engineering-a-season-of-floods-11573832077930.htmlIndia Today: How disruption in the surrounding highlands intensifies flooding in Assam: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/assam-floods-nagaland-arunachal-hill-erosion-experts-solutions-2969082-2026-08-12Assam floods: Engineering alone cannot help (SANDRP): https://sandrp.in/2026/08/17/drp-170826-assam-floods-engineering-alone-cannot-help/Mongabay India: Assam’s floods expose a crisis beyond heavy rain: https://india.mongabay.com/2026/08/assam-floods-expose-a-crisis-beyond-heavy-rain/Upper Assam’s flood catastrophe a direct result of river and mountain grabbing (Scroll): https://scroll.in/article/1095046/upper-assams-flood-catastrophe-is-a-direct-result-of-river-and-mountain-grabbingNewslaundry: The making of Assam’s annual “unprecedented” flood: https://www.newslaundry.com/2026/07/30/at-least-75-dead-7-lakh-displaced-the-making-of-assams-annual-unprecedented-floodEOMContact us:Email the PodcastArati Kumar-Rao on Instagram Prem Panicker on X (Twitter) Prem on SubstackFrom The Marginlands on Instagram
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    1 hr and 49 mins
  • When The World Is Connected But Our Planning Is Not

    When The World Is Connected But Our Planning Is Not
    Aug 5 2026

    Contact us:
    Email the Podcast
    Arati Kumar-Rao on Instagram
    Prem Panicker on X (Twitter)
    Prem on Substack
    From The Marginlands on Instagram
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    1 hr and 3 mins
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