CURRENT AFFAIRS | MARCH 2026
Prelims: INCOIS, ITEWC, Swaraj Dweep location, non-seismic tsunamis, sub-sea cable technology, Iberian Peninsula geography
Mains: GS-I (Physical geography — plate tectonics, tsunami generation mechanisms, climatology), GS-III (Disaster management — early warning systems, infrastructure resilience, climate change adaptation)
INCOIS Regional Service Centre: Strengthening India’s Tsunami Early Warning Infrastructure
The establishment of the INCOIS Regional Service Centre (RSC) at Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep (formerly Havelock Island) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands represents a quantum leap in India’s disaster preparedness architecture. This centre is integrated with the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), which has been operational since the aftermath of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 230,000 people across 14 countries.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), headquartered in Hyderabad and operating under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has been India’s nodal agency for ocean data and advisory services. The new RSC extends INCOIS’s reach to the geographically most vulnerable region of India — the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago sits directly on the boundary of the Indian and Burma tectonic plates, making it the first Indian territory to be impacted by any tsunamigenic earthquake in the eastern Indian Ocean.
– Location: Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island), A&N Islands
– Integration: Part of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC)
– Key infrastructure: 270-km sub-sea cable for real-time data transmission
– Capability: Monitoring seismic and non-seismic tsunami sources
– Coverage: Entire Indian Ocean basin early warning
Non-Seismic Tsunamis: The Lesser-Known Threat
While approximately 80% of tsunamis are generated by earthquakes (seismic tsunamis), the RSC is specifically designed to also monitor non-seismic tsunamis — a category that has received insufficient attention in disaster preparedness frameworks globally. Non-seismic tsunamis can be triggered by:
1. Submarine landslides: Underwater slope failures, often triggered by earthquakes or volcanic activity, can displace enormous volumes of water. The 1998 Papua New Guinea tsunami, which killed 2,200 people, was caused by a submarine landslide rather than the earthquake itself.
2. Volcanic eruptions: The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption generated a tsunami that crossed the entire Pacific Ocean, demonstrating that volcanic tsunamis can have transoceanic reach. This event was particularly instructive because the tsunami propagated through atmospheric pressure waves (meteotsunami mechanism) in addition to water displacement.
3. Meteotsunamis: Large-scale atmospheric pressure disturbances can generate tsunami-like waves, particularly in enclosed or semi-enclosed basins. These are increasingly recognised as a climate change-amplified threat.
For GS-I, understand the physics of tsunami generation: Tsunamis are shallow-water waves where the wavelength is much greater than the ocean depth. Their speed follows the formula v = sqrt(g x d) where g is gravitational acceleration and d is depth. In the open ocean, tsunamis travel at 500-800 km/hr with wave heights of only 30-60 cm, making them virtually undetectable. As they approach shallow coastal waters, they slow down and the energy converts to wave height amplification — the process called shoaling. This explains why early warning is critical: there is a window between detection at deep-ocean sensors and coastal arrival.
270-km Sub-Sea Cable: The Technological Backbone
The 270-km sub-sea cable connecting the RSC to the mainland monitoring network is a critical infrastructure investment. In tsunami scenarios, communication resilience is paramount — terrestrial communication infrastructure (cell towers, fibre networks) is among the first to be destroyed by tsunami inundation. A sub-sea cable provides a hardened communication backbone that is less vulnerable to surface-level destruction.
The cable serves dual purposes: (1) Transmitting real-time seismic and oceanographic data from sensors deployed around the Andaman Sea to the main INCOIS processing centre in Hyderabad; (2) Enabling rapid dissemination of warnings to local authorities and populations in the A&N Islands, which would have the shortest warning window (potentially as little as 15-20 minutes) for a Sunda Arc-generated tsunami.
The INCOIS RSC exemplifies India’s shift from reactive disaster response to predictive disaster management. For GS-III, analyse this within the framework of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030), which prioritises: (1) Understanding disaster risk; (2) Strengthening disaster risk governance; (3) Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience; (4) Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response. The RSC addresses all four priorities. Also link to India’s National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and the role of NDMA in coordinating multi-hazard early warning systems.
Storm Marta: Climate Vulnerability of the Iberian Peninsula
Storm Marta, which devastated Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, has become a case study in the intensification of extreme weather events due to climate change. The Iberian Peninsula is particularly vulnerable to climate impacts due to its geographical position at the boundary between Mediterranean and Atlantic climate zones.
The peninsula’s climate is influenced by the Azores High pressure system and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Climate models project that warming will shift these atmospheric patterns, leading to more intense but less frequent rainfall events — exactly the pattern observed with Storm Marta. This has implications for water management, agriculture, and urban infrastructure across southern Europe.
– Countries: Spain and Portugal
– Climate zones: Mediterranean, Atlantic, Semi-arid
– Key influences: Azores High, North Atlantic Oscillation, Mediterranean Sea temperature
– Climate projections: 2-4 degree C warming by 2100, 20-30% rainfall reduction in summer
– Storm Marta impact: Extreme wind, flooding, infrastructure damage
For UPSC aspirants, Storm Marta connects to broader themes of climate adaptation in Mediterranean regions, the European Green Deal’s implications for climate-vulnerable economies, and the relevance of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree C target for regions already experiencing accelerated warming.
T — Tsunami types: seismic (80%) + non-seismic (20%)
W — Warning centre: INCOIS RSC at Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep
I — ITEWC integration + 270-km sub-sea cable
N — NAO and Azores High (Iberian climate drivers)
S — Storm Marta (Spain + Portugal, Iberian Peninsula)
Source: UPSC Essentials, The Indian Express — March 2026
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