Gujarat’s coastline is vanishing at an alarming rate, a 40-year study has revealed. From the Gulf of Khambhat to the Gulf of Kutch, from the Saurashtra coast to the South Gujarat coast, the oncestable shores are now rapidly eroding. Out of the 16 coastal districts, 10 are grappling with significant erosion, affecting nearly 45.8% of the state’s coastline. This troubling phenomenon is impacting around 549 villages, home to over a million people.
In districts like Ahmedabad, Surat and Bharuch, erosion is creeping in within 30m of the coast. Rising sea surface temperatures are being blamed for this accelerated erosion.
“In 2021, the Khambhat coastline near the Mahi estuarine area reported a dramatic increase in shoreline change from 113.9m to 831.4m over 40 years, with an annual change rate of 39.76m,” stated a study by researchers at Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
Gujarat’s coastline spans 1,617km, touching 13 coastal districts and 35 talukas, making it the country’s longest. Kutch district has the highest erosion, followed by Jamnagar, Bharuch, and Valsad. Of the 1,600km coastline, 703.6km is eroding. “In South Gujarat, approximately 83.06% of the coast is eroding, 10.15% is stable and 6.78% is gaining land; the length of the eroding coast is greater than that of the stable and accreting coasts. This erosion stretches from Dandi in Surat district to Umargam in Valsad district,” stated the study by researchers Krunal Patel, Rajmal Jain, Manik Kalubarme, and Tusharkumar Bhatt of BISAG-N.
Their study analyzed satellite data from 1978-2020, revealing that Kutch and Jamnagar suffered the most erosion, with over 130m and 64m lost, respectively.
The BISAG study categorized erosion based on coastline change rate: low for less than 300m, moderate for 100-500m and high for more than 1km.
The research li nked rising sea surface temperatures (SST) along Gujarat’s coast as a key factor in accelerating erosion. Data from 1860-2020 showed a gradual SST increase across the Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Khambhat, and Saurashtra coast, with the Gulf of Khambhat seeing the highest rise of 1.5°C, followed by the Saurashtra coast (1.0°C) and the Gulf of Kutch (0.75°C).
“Jamnagar district saw the highest erosion, almost 2.5 times more during 1998-2020 compared to 1978-1998,” the study observed. “Surat followed with 1.24 times and Valsad with 1.17 times.”
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Paul John is special correspondent at The Times of India, Ahmedab...
Read MorePaul John is special correspondent at The Times of India, Ahmedabad and reports on urban infrastructure, RTI and taxation related issues. His enjoys doing human interest stories and going to rural areas and reporting on issues affecting people there.
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