India’s First Living Lab for Landslide Early Warning: How a Kerala Village is Building Climate Resilience

Kerala’s Kanichar panchayat pioneers a Living Lab model with automatic weather stations, AI-driven landslide alerts, and community training to build disaster resilience.

In the wake of recent natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, experts have highlighted the urgent need for early warning systems at the local level, especially for landslides. Landslides are natural phenomena that usually occur in mountainous regions with steep slopes. They involve large amounts of rock, boulders, loose mud, soil, and debris rolling down slopes with great momentum, often sweeping away vegetation, farmland, and even buildings. With extreme weather events like heavy rainfall rising steadily, the risks of such disasters are increasing across India.

Against this backdrop, a pioneering initiative in Kanichar panchayat in Kannur district, Kerala has attracted national attention. Just 60 km from Kannur town, Kanichar became India’s first village panchayat to adopt a ‘Living Lab’ approach for climate sensitivity and resilience. The model, originally developed in the Netherlands, integrates real-world community settings with research and innovation to create and test practical solutions. It brings together multiple stakeholders — government authorities, scientific experts, private agencies, and civil society — to address disaster risks in a participatory way. For a village that lost three residents and 36 hectares of farmland in a series of landslides in 2022, this approach has offered both relief and hope.

The project is implemented by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) with the aim of making nearly 4,600 households in the panchayat more resilient to natural disasters. Community members have been trained to understand standard operating procedures (SOPs), exit routes, emergency support systems, and local vulnerabilities. Hyperlocalisation — tailoring alerts and responses to the specific geography and risks of the area — is a key feature of the initiative. Each household has access to a digital link that provides real-time weather data on rainfall, wind speed, and temperature. Residents who track this information share it through ward-level WhatsApp groups, ensuring that warnings reach quickly and effectively across the village.

To strengthen this grassroots disaster preparedness, an automatic weather station (AWS) has been installed in the landslide-prone panchayat, with plans to add 12 more across its 13 wards.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), an AWS is a station where observations are made and transmitted automatically. It typically consists of sensors for wind, temperature and humidity, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall.

In Kanichar, the AWS generates localised meteorological data which is then shared with the community, helping people anticipate hazards. A 60-member community response team has also been formed, trained in disaster response, and equipped with essential tools. Their services were put to use during the rainy season, proving the value of early preparedness.

An automatic weather station installed to provide local weather data in the landslide-prone area.

Adding another crucial layer, Kanichar will soon host an early landslide warning system, developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in association with the CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI).

This system combines indigenously developed sensors that collect ground data with an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) model designed to predict landslides.

The warning signal, once installed, will reportedly be audible up to 10 km away, providing precious minutes for evacuation and emergency measures. Students in the village are also being trained in disaster management, including first aid and emergency response, building a culture of resilience in the younger generation.

The broader challenge is clear: while India has made significant progress in managing certain natural disasters like cyclones, landslides remain a weak point.

Recognising this, several national initiatives have been launched in recent years.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) initiated the establishment of the National Landslide Forecasting Centre, launched in July 2024, as an important step towards disaster resilience.

In 2019, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) rolled out the Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS) to provide financial and technical support to states for slope stabilisation, monitoring, awareness, and capacity building.

The same year, the government also released the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy, which comprehensively addresses hazard mapping, early warning systems, community awareness, training, regulations, and site-specific mitigation measures.

Districts with landslide risk exposure (Landslide Atlas of India, ISRO)

The scale of India’s vulnerability underscores the importance of such efforts. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which released the Landslide Atlas of India in 2023, nearly 12.6 per cent of the country’s geographical area (0.42 million sq km) — excluding snow-covered regions — is prone to landslides.

Of the total reported landslides, about 66.5 per cent occur in the north-western Himalayas, 18.8 per cent in the north-eastern Himalayas, and 14.7 per cent in the Western Ghats.

These figures reveal how widespread the risk is, particularly in states with fragile mountain ecosystems and high rainfall.

The Living Lab in Kanichar therefore represents more than a local experiment — it is a model that could be replicated in other vulnerable regions of India. By combining scientific technology such as AWS and AI-driven prediction systems with community participation and localised communication networks, the project bridges the gap between expert knowledge and grassroots resilience. It demonstrates that effective early warning systems (EWS) are not just about technology, but also about awareness, preparedness, and collective action.

For a country grappling with increasing climate-driven disasters, such innovations point towards a more secure and resilient future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the Living Lab approach in disaster management?

The Living Lab approach integrates real-world community settings with research and innovation, bringing together government agencies, experts, and local people to co-create solutions for disaster preparedness and resilience.

2. Why was Kanichar panchayat in Kerala chosen for India’s first Living Lab?Kanichar, in Kannur district, experienced multiple landslides in 2022 that killed three people and destroyed 36 hectares of farmland, making it a priority area for building community resilience.

3. How is community participation ensured in Kanichar’s Living Lab?

Residents share weather data via ward-level WhatsApp groups, a 60-member disaster response team has been trained, and students are receiving first-aid and disaster preparedness training.

4. What percentage of India’s land area is prone to landslides?

According to ISRO’s Landslide Atlas of India (2023), about 12.6% of India’s geographical land area (0.42 million sq km) is prone to landslides, with the Himalayas and Western Ghats being the most vulnerable.

5. What are India’s national initiatives for landslide risk management?

Key initiatives include the National Landslide Risk Management Strategy (2019), Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS, 2019), and the National Landslide Forecasting Centre launched in 2024.

6. How do early warning systems (EWS) reduce the impact of disasters?

EWS predict the likelihood of disasters, disseminate alerts, and enable timely responses such as evacuation, thereby saving lives and reducing damage to property.

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