NoeMacmillan574 at 00:53, 9 October 2025

2025-10-09T00:53:07Z

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{{Short description|Islet in West Bengal, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox islands
| map = India West Bengal#India
| 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 = none
}}

[[File:Lohachara.jpg|thumb|1954 map showing Lohachara Char (Hindi for Island) in Hoogly River]]
'''Lohachara Island''' was an islet in the [[Hooghly River]]'s [[Sundarbans|Sundarban delta]] that eroded away.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Leaving Lohāchāra: On circuits of emplacement and displacement in the Ganges Delta | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273525688 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217193220/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273525688_Leaving_Lohachara_On_circuits_of_emplacement_and_displacement_in_the_Ganges_Delta | access-date=2025-09-30 | archive-date=2025-02-17}}</ref> It was part of the [[Sundarban National Park]] in the Indian state of [[West Bengal]]. The disappearance of the island was reported by Indian researchers in December 2006,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061228004107/http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2099971.ece Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island], The Independent, 24 December 2006.</ref> which led to international press coverage. No specific study was ever done to prove that the island was permanently inundated (and not eroded away) because of sea level rise.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-03/kolkata/28047165_1_nayachar-global-warming-kolkata-and-haldia-docks | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024020214/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-03/kolkata/28047165_1_nayachar-global-warming-kolkata-and-haldia-docks | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-10-24 | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Vanishing islands: Blame on KoPT}}</ref> In April 2009 local newspapers announced that Lochara Island had risen from the water again.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-03/kolkata/28010962_1_island-ghoramara-lohachara-and-bedford | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811054259/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-03/kolkata/28010962_1_island-ghoramara-lohachara-and-bedford | url-status=dead | archive-date=2011-08-11 | work=[[The Times of India]] | title=Lohachara rises from waters again}}</ref>

== Overview ==
The islet is one of a number of "vanishing islands" in the delta: in the past two decades, four islands – Bedford (or [[Suparibhanga]]), Lohachara, [[South Talpatti Island]] (disputed island between [[Bangladesh]] and [[India]]), and [[Kabasgadi]] – have been permanently flooded. Of them, only Lohachara was an inhabited island where more than 6,000 people used to live. The loss of land has displaced thousands of people who were forced to move to the mainland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_sc/as_india_disappearing_island |title=Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal disappears into sea - Yahoo! News |website=news.yahoo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326090451/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_sc/as_india_disappearing_island |archive-date=2010-03-26}} </ref>

There are multiple causes<ref>[http://in.news.yahoo.com/061030/48/68wfx.html The Indian Express – By 2020, 12 more Sunderban islands set to go under water] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202011114/http://in.news.yahoo.com/061030/48/68wfx.html |date=2007-02-02 }} 30 October 2006</ref> of the disappearances of islands in the delta, including [[sea level rise]], [[coastal erosion]], [[cyclone]]s (while the number of cyclones has decreased, their intensity has increased),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930044332/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061030/asp/knowhow/story_6929967.asp The Telegraph, Calcutta – Vanishing islands Displaced Climate casualties Underlying truth] 30 October 2006</ref> [[mangrove]] destruction and [[coastal flooding]].

In 1974 the [[Farakka Barrage]] began diverting water into the Hoogly River during its dry season. During each monsoon season almost all the Bengali delta is submerged, much of it for half a year.<ref>Rivers of Life: Living with Floods in Bangladesh. M. Q. Zaman. Asian Survey, Vol. 33, No. 10 (Oct., 1993), pp. 985-996</ref> The sediment of the lower delta plain is primarily advected inland by monsoonal coastal setup and cyclonic events.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs003670100069 | doi=10.1007/s003670100069 | title=Modern sediment supply to the lower delta plain of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh | year=2001 | last1=M. | first1=Allison | last2=E. | first2=Kepple | journal=Geo-Marine Letters | volume=21 | issue=2 | pages=66–74 | bibcode=2001GML....21...66M | s2cid=140636544 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> One of the greatest challenges people living on the Ganges Delta may face in coming years is the threat of rising sea waters caused by [[subsidence]] (sinking) in the region. Residents have to be careful building on the river delta, as severe flooding sometimes occurs. 

A 1990 study noted "There is no evidence that [[environmental degradation]] in the Himalayas or a 'greenhouse'-induced rise in sea level have aggravated floods in Bangladesh."<ref>Floods in Bangladesh: II. Flood Mitigation and Environmental Aspects. H. Brammer. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 156, No. 2 (Jul., 1990), pp. 158-165. {{doi|10.2307/635323}}</ref> The Bengal Basin is slowly tilting towards the east due to neo-tectonic movement. As a result, the salinity of Bangladesh [[Sunderbans]] is much lower than that of the Indian Sunderbans.<ref>[http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/mar252003/757.pdf Environmental classification of mangrove wetlands of India]. V. Selvam. Current Science, Vol. 84, No. 6, 25 March 2003.</ref>

Overall population of the Sundarbans has risen 200% to nearly 4.3 million.<ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3102948.stm BBC - Fears rise for sinking Sundarbans] 15 September 2003</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|India|Islands}}
* [[South Talpatti Island]]
* [[Ganges Delta]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{South 24 Parganas topics}}

{{coord|21.90|N|88.11|E|type:isle_region:IN|display=title}}

[[Category:Former islands of India]]
[[Category:Islands of the Hooghly River]]
[[Category:Islands of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Former populated places in India]]
[[Category:Geography of South 24 Parganas district]]
[[Category:Sundarbans]]
[[Category:Islands of India]]
[[Category:Populated places in India]]
[[Category:Islands of the Bay of Bengal]]

Lohachara Island - Revision history

NoeMacmillan574 at 00:53, 9 October 2025