Impact of Drought in India

Impact of Drought in India

IAS/PCS Mains: General Studies Question Paper 3

(Drought: Impacts and Rescue)

Foreword:

  • India is an agricultural country and most of its agricultural area is dependent on monsoon rains.
  • According to the data of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, about 68 percent of the country is suffering from drought of varying degrees.
  • Statistics show that 35 percent of India's areas receive rainfall between 750 mm to 1125 mm, while 33 percent of areas receive less than 750 mm of rainfall, these areas are more prone to drought.
  • Recently, in one of its reports, the United Nations has predicted an increase in the incidence of drought due to climate change in the coming times.
  • Due to climate change, soil erosion and continuous exploitation of water, today a large part of the world is facing severe problem of drought. Lush forests are turning into deserts.

About Drought:

  • When there is no rain in any area for a long time, there is a shortage of water. In this situation there is drought.
  • Although it is a common phenomenon, which is seen in all types of climatic zones, whether they are humid or dry.
  • Drought is mainly of three types. Meteorological drought, agricultural drought and hydrological drought.
  • Meteorological Drought: Meteorological drought is characterized by insufficient or very little rainfall over a long period of time. Apart from this, uneven distribution of rainfall also promotes this type of drought. Meteorological drought can be measured on the basis of amount of rainfall and aridity.
  • Agricultural drought: Agricultural drought is caused by the lack of sufficient moisture in the soil. Because the crop will not grow if there is a lack of moisture in the soil. In this way, agricultural drought is seen when there is a lack of rain.
  • Hydrological Drought: Water bodies such as rivers and lakes lose water due to less rainfall, leading to hydrological drought.

Types of drought based on amount of rainfall

  • There are two levels of drought, one is moderate drought, the other is severe drought.
  • When the rainfall deficiency in an area is between 26 percent to 50 percent, it is considered as normal drought, but if the rainfall deficiency exceeds fifty percent, then it is kept in the category of severe drought.
  • By the way, the state governments determine the drought-affected areas on the basis of their different scales.

Causes of Drought in India:

  • One of the main reasons for drought in India is the uneven distribution of rainfall here. That is, in some areas the rainfall is very high, but in some areas the rainfall is very less. Apart from this, 80 per cent of the rainfall in India falls in less than 100 days, whereas only 20 per cent of the rainfall occurs in the rest of the days.
  • Climate change, soil erosion and unsustainable over-exploitation of water.
  • Excessive cutting of forests.
  • The main reason for drought in India is less rainfall during monsoon. It has been observed that even if the monsoon arrives with a delay of 10 to 20 days, there is drought.
  • Apart from this, India's agricultural system is also responsible for drought.

Drought Affected States:

  • The regions most affected by drought in India are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Apart from this, some areas of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, interior areas of Jharkhand and Odisha and southern part of Tamil Nadu are also affected by it.

Concerns and Impact of Drought:

  • The World Bank estimates that by the year 2050, 216 million people may be forced to migrate due to drought. That is, the situation of drought is going to be more serious in the future. Indeed, drought badly affects various aspects of the environment and society. When there is no rain, the crops get spoiled. The failure of crops leads to the problem of food grains, which leads to starvation and famine conditions.
  • Apart from this, due to lack of rain, there is a shortage of water in different areas and when people do not have clean water to drink, then people are forced to drink dirty water, due to which many diseases arise in them. . Lack of water also creates the problem of fodder and water for animals. Due to which animals die on a large scale.
  • According to this report, between 2000 and 2019, more than one billion people have been affected by drought.
  • Although no region has escaped the drought, the continent of Africa has been hit the hardest. In future, the condition of American continent, India and Australia can also be worrying.
  • There have been 134 drought events in Africa during 2000 to 2019. 70 drought events were observed only in East Africa.
  • It is estimated that if the temperature continues to rise like this, by the year 2031 the temperature may increase by up to 3 degree Celsius and the world may have to suffer more due to drought. It can further increase up to five times. The least developed and developing countries are the most affected by drought.
  • Which has a bad effect on the animal husbandry industry of the country. Due to drought, there is loss of forests. Poverty increases. Problems like health and malnutrition increase. Inflation increases due to hoarding. Problems such as decline in living standards and social unrest and migration arise from drought conditions.
  • In many areas such crops are grown, for which the demand for water is very high, but water is available in less quantity there. Due to this, drought is seen in that area.

Way Forward:

The following measures should be adopted to avoid drought:

  • Which areas and which communities are more affected by drought, vulnerability profiles of different regions and communities should be made, so that some policies can be made to save those areas from drought. Irrigation requires a large amount of water, so drought can be avoided by proper management of water in the irrigation system.
  • For the supply of water in dry and rainless areas, major rivers should be linked together to make a grid.
  • Small dams should be constructed to store water.
  • To prevent wastage of water, irrigation methods should be changed and drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation etc. should be adopted.
  • Organic farming should be promoted in drought prone areas.
  • In this regard, the use of ICT i.e. Information and Communication Technology should also be promoted and in this regard the government should issue guidelines on how to use ICT technology to deal with drought.
  • At the same time, we also have to pay attention to real time data collection, so that when the situation of drought is arising, action can be taken to stop it at the initial stage itself.
  • Whatever policies are determined related to the disaster of drought, it should be ensured that they are implemented at the ground level only then proper management of prevention can be done.

Source-JANSATTA

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Mains Exam Question

Suggest measures to deal with the alarming situation and impacts of drought in India.