>Deor at 17:20, 3 February 2021

2021-02-03T17:20:11Z

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{{Infobox islands
| map = India West Bengal
| location = [[Bay of Bengal]]
| archipelago = [[Sundarbans]]
| country = India
| country_admin_divisions_title = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| country_admin_divisions = [[West Bengal]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Districts of West Bengal|District]]
| country_admin_divisions_1 = [[South 24 Parganas]]
| population = 3000
}}

'''Ghoramara Island''' is an island 92 km south of [[Kolkata]], [[India]] in the [[Sundarban]] Delta complex of the [[Bay of Bengal]]. The island is small, roughly five square kilometers in area, and is quickly disappearing due to erosion and [[sea level rise]].<ref name="Disputed isle">{{cite news |title=Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea |work=[[USA Today]]|first=Nirmala|last=George|date=March 24, 2010 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2010-03-24-bengal-island-sinking_N.htm }}</ref>

==Shrinking of island==
[[Global warming]] has caused the rivers that pour down from the [[Himalayas]] and empty into the Bay of Bengal to swell and shift in recent decades, placing these islands, known as the Sundarbans, in danger. Four islands are completely underwater, and another 10 in the area are at risk.<ref name="Disputed isle" />

A 2007 study by [[Jadavpur University]] concluded that roughly {{convert|31|sqmi|km2}} of the Sundarbans had disappeared during the preceding 30 years, and that Ghoramara had shrunk to less than {{convert|5|sqmi|km2|spell=on}}, about half its size in 1969: this loss of land had caused the displacement of more than 600 families.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/world/asia/10iht-india.5.5220466.html|work=[[New York Times]]|title=India's river Delta islands washing away|first=Somini|last=Sengupta|date=April 10, 2007}}</ref>

==Population==
Ghoramara island once had a population of 40,000.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/05/20/478915685/rising-tides-force-thousands-to-leave-islands-of-eastern-india|work=[[NPR]]|title=Rising Tides Force Thousands To Leave Islands Of Eastern India|first=Ari|last=Shapiro|date=May 20, 2016|access-date=May 22, 2016}}</ref> The 2001 Government of India census showed a population of 5,000 on Ghoramara; this population is believed to have shrunk as families are displaced by the island's sinking and many families are migrating in search of better livelihood.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/hungry-tides-in-the-sundarbans/article30054094.ece|title=Hungry tides of the Sundarbans: How the rising seas create environmental migrants|last=Singh|first=Shiv Sahay|date=2019-11-23|work=The Hindu|access-date=2020-01-12|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> As of 2016 the island has 3,000 residents.<ref name=":0" />

==See also==
* [[Lohachara Island]]
* [[South Talpatti Island]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/w.cgi?c=in&UF=387405&UN=484026&AF=T_G Satellite view from Google images ]
*[https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/indias-rising-tides-and-temperatures/ International Herald Tribune article]
*''Morphological changes of Ghoramara Island: a documentation.'' Indian Journal of Geography and Environment. Vol.2, p. 64-65, 1997.
*''Destruction and Agony in Ghoramara Island.'' Paper accepted to present in the 22nd Conference of Institute of Indian Geographers (IIG) and IGU Commission meeting on Land Degradation and Desertification, January 9-1, 2001.

{{South 24 Parganas topics}}

{{coord|21.914|88.129|display=title|region:IN_type:isle}}

[[Category:Islands of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Geography of South 24 Parganas district]]
[[Category:Sundarbans]]

Ghoramara Island - Revision history

>Deor at 17:20, 3 February 2021