Droughts in India

Why in the News?

The state of Kerala is likely to face drought due to widening monsoon deficit and threat of drought looming in other states of South India as well.

News in Detail:

1. Kerala registered a shortfall of 90% rain in the month of August, receiving only 25mm against the usual pattern of 240.2mm of rainfall.
2. The water availability in the key reservoirs stands at a mere 37% of the total storage capacity.
3. The total power generational potential of the reservoirs has also reduced to half of the corresponding year in 2022.
4. Even normal rainfall in the month of September is highly insufficient to make up for the rain deficit and it can be compensated only by extreme rainfall events.
5. The Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Pacific are currently exceeding El Niño threshold and is projected to continue up to early 2024.
6. Since the Indian Ocean Dipole is still neutral, it has less potential to lessen the impact of El Niño effect- suppressing the rainfall on the Indian continent. 

About:

Droughts in India:

1. Drought is a complex-phenomenon that is indicated by shortage of water availability for an extended period due to inadequate precipitation, excessive rate of evaporation and over-utilisation of water from the reservoirs and other storages, including the ground water.
2. Types of Droughts:
   1. Meteorological Drought:
      • Characterised by prolonged period of inadequate rainfall marked with uneven distribution of the rainfall over time and space.
   2. Agricultural Drought/ soil moisture drought:
      • It is a situation when there is low moisture in the soil which is necessary to support the crops and results in crop failures.
      • Areas with more than 30% of its gross cropped area under irrigation are excluded from the drought-prone category.
   3. Hydrological Drought:
      • When the availability of water in different storages and reservoirs falls below what the precipitation can replenish can result in this type of drought.
   4. Ecological Drought:
      • When the productivity of a natural ecosystem fails due to shortage of water and results in ecological distress, damages to the ecosystem, it is called Ecological Drought
3. Drought Prone Areas in India
   1. ~19% of the total geographical area of the country and 12% of the total population suffer due to drought every year.
   2. Some parts of India might be facing droughts and simultaneously other regions face floods.
   3. The variations in the time and space factor of droughts is due to large-scale variations and unpredictability in the behaviour of the monsoon in India.
   4. On the basis of severity of droughts, India can be divided into the following regions:
      • Extreme Drought Affected Areas: Includes most parts of Rajasthan, particularly areas to the west of the Aravali hills, i.e., Marusthali and Kachchh regions of Gujarat fall in this category
      • Severe Drought Prone Areas: Parts of eastern Rajasthan, most parts of Madhya Pradesh, eastern parts of Maharashtra, interior parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Plateau, northern parts of interior Tamil Nadu and southern parts of Jharkhand and interior Odisha are included in this category
      • Moderate Drought Affected Areas: Northern parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, southern districts of Uttar Pradesh, the remaining parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra except Konkan, Jharkhand and Coimbatore plateau of Tamil Nadu and interior Karnataka are included in this category
      • Remaining parts of India can be considered either free or less prone to the drought.

Consequences of Droughts:

1. Crop failure leading to scarcity of food grains and fodder
2. Inadequate rainfall, resulting in shortage of water
3. Large-scale death of cattle and other animals along with migration of humans and livestock in the drought-affected areas.
4. Scarcity of water compels people to consume contaminated water resulting in spread of many waterborne diseases like gastro-enteritis, cholera, hepatitis, etc.