India’s coastline is longer now, length jumps by 3582 km due to...

India's coastline has grown significantly, but not because the country has gained any new land. A new and more accurate measurement method has shown that India’s coastline is now 11,098 kilometres long, up from the earlier figure of 7,516 kilometres. This is an increase of about 3,582 km, or nearly 48 per cent. This increase doesn't mean that the coastline has physically expanded. Instead, it is due to better technology and more detailed mapping. In the 1970s, the coastline was measured using maps with a lower resolution, specifically, a scale of 1:4,500,000. These maps could not show the finer twists and turns of the coast. But now, with new high-resolution data at a scale of 1:250,000, experts can capture much more detail.

To understand this, imagine using a long stick to measure a bumpy road, you would miss many small dips and curves. But if you use a smaller stick, you’ll be able to measure every little bump. The same idea applies to coastlines. When measured with greater detail, they appear longer because all the tiny curves, inlets, and edges are included.

This new measurement used modern GIS (Geographic Information System) software instead of traditional manual tools. This advanced technology maps the natural shape of the land more precisely. It has also helped include smaller offshore islands that earlier measurements had missed due to their size or the limits of old techniques.

While the new figure is more accurate, it still doesn’t show the exact length of India’s coastline. That’s because coastlines, like rivers and mountains, are naturally uneven and constantly changing. This is known as the coastline paradox, a term that explains why coastlines don’t have a fixed length. The more closely you look, the more detail you find, and the longer the coast seems to be.

This paradox affects other natural features too. For example, rivers twist and turn, and if we try to measure their edges, we run into the same problem. That’s why river lengths are usually measured from the source to the mouth, along the centre of the flow, instead of tracing every bend on the banks.

So, India hasn’t gained new land, but thanks to better tools and modern mapping methods, we now have a much clearer, and longer, view of its true coastline.