IIT Madras Builds Framework to Measure Climate Risk on India’s Coast

IIT Madras Builds Framework to Measure Climate Risk on India’s Coast

Researchers at IIT Madras have built an integrated framework to study climate change along India’s coast. The tool also points to adaptation steps for infrastructure, ecosystems, and exposed communities. The Institute’s Centre of Excellence on Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Infrastructure and Adaptation Strategies led the work. The Department of Science and Technology supports the Centre.

India’s coastline holds major ports, fishing harbours, power plants, industries, and cities. These places now face stronger climate risks. Cyclones, storm surges, coastal floods, erosion, sea-level rise, and extreme rain all add pressure. Therefore, planners need linked models rather than single-hazard studies.

The Centre combines climate science, coastal engineering, water resources, and environmental engineering. Its team has built climate, cyclone, storm-surge, wave, hydrodynamic, and morphodynamic models for Indian conditions. A new wind-merging method aims to improve storm-surge forecasts. Flood inundation maps for Chennai are meant to aid disaster planning.

Coastal Vulnerability Index maps now cover Chennai, Ennore, and Karaikal. Those maps include sea-level rise and storm surge. Researchers have also proposed methods to watch climate-driven wear in port structures. Other work examines reservoir operations in flood-prone cities and ways to limit saltwater intrusion.

Water and waste systems form a second track. The team has designed climate-resilient wastewater treatment, including a patented in-stream method. It has also introduced the BASIEC framework. That tool supports community adaptation to sea-level rise and related hazards.

Prof. S. A. Sannasiraj, principal investigator and Ocean Engineering faculty member, said climate change is raising risk for coastal assets and people. He said the Centre uses a systems approach that joins climate models, engineering options, and community measures. Prof. B. S. Murty, centre coordinator and Civil Engineering faculty member, said adaptation must treat several hazards at once. He said simulations, field data, and stakeholder talks should guide coastal policy.

The research follows the chain from changing cyclones and floods to damaged infrastructure and planned responses. It mixes field measurements, lab tests, and numerical models. It also favours open-source tools and local adaptation options.

The team presented findings at the IAHR World Congress 2025 in Singapore. Springer Nature has published an edited volume on climate impacts and adaptation for coastal infrastructure, water, and waste systems. Fifteen co-principal investigators from four IIT Madras departments took part. Outputs so far include 73 journal papers, six book chapters, one edited book, 60 conference papers, and one patent.

The researchers say the work can better protect ports, harbours, power plants, and transport links. It can also improve city flood readiness, guard coastal groundwater, and support nature-based protection. Officials will still need to turn the maps and models into local action.