{"id":715,"date":"2016-01-05T18:28:36","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T18:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/?p=715"},"modified":"2022-12-08T09:24:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T03:54:41","slug":"top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Reasons for Droughts in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Droughts are one of the scariest and deadliest natural calamities. Droughts have claimed innumerable lives in India in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Since agriculture is one of the main livelihood sources in India and it is dependent on rainfall and water supply, a shortage in water affects agriculture badly resulting in famine and causes deaths on a large scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Location\" >Location<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Inadequate_Rainfall\" >Inadequate Rainfall<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Lack_of_water_vapour_in_the_atmosphere\" >Lack of water vapour in the atmosphere<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Climate_change\" >Climate change<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Ocean_temperatures\" >Ocean temperatures<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Changes_in_Jet_Stream\" >Changes in Jet Stream<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Changes_in_local_landscape\" >Changes in local landscape<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Hydrological_Drought\" >Hydrological Drought<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Meteorological_Drought\" >Meteorological Drought<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Agricultural_Drought\" >Agricultural Drought<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/#Inadequate_Agricultural_Practices\" >Inadequate Agricultural Practices<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Location\"><\/span><strong>Location<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certain regions in India are drought prone. These areas receive an annual rainfall upto 60 cm and hence are severely affected where the monsoons aren\u2019t enough. The Irrigation Commission of India has identified 67 districts in the country that are drought prone. Some of the states that have been identified as drought prone include Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Northern Karnataka and Maharashtra.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Inadequate_Rainfall\"><\/span><strong>Inadequate Rainfall<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inadequate or failure of monsoons is a major reason for droughts in India. Inadequate rainfall causes crop failure which leads to famines. Several famines have ravaged the country time and again and have claimed millions of deaths over the centuries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Lack_of_water_vapour_in_the_atmosphere\"><\/span><strong>Lack of water vapour in the atmosphere<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is also related to rainfall to low or erratic monsoons. When there is less water in the atmosphere, the moisture present in the soils tends to evaporate into the atmosphere. However, this leaves the land barren and produces low yield of crops, resulting in famine.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Climate_change\"><\/span><strong>Climate change<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The increasing heat during the summers causes more water to evaporate and unless there is rain to compensate for the loss, droughts are imminent. Even burning of fossil fuels are contributing to climate change and imminent rise in temperature, thus evaporating more and more water from the land surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ocean_temperatures\"><\/span><strong>Ocean temperatures<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The El-Nino effect has been held responsible for controlling monsoons in the Indian subcontinent. Abnormally high sea surface temperatures have resulted in increased evaporation and heavy rains across many places in India. However, a contrasting phenomenon that instead of the high pressure air mass above the southern part of the Indian Ocean, the El-Nino creates a low pressure which pulls out dry air from Central Asia and dehydrates the Indian landmass.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changes_in_Jet_Stream\"><\/span><strong>Changes in Jet Stream<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jet streams are narrow bands of air that move around the earth at very high speeds. Jet streams can stall a high pressure system resulting in sunny weather and no rain. This is again a major contributing factor to droughts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changes_in_local_landscape\"><\/span><strong>Changes in local landscape<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deforestation, changes in the vegetation type and drainage issues are some of the changes in the landscape that can cause droughts. Due to these factors, the water retention capacity of the soil is reduced and hence droughts are caused.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hydrological_Drought\"><\/span><strong>Hydrological Drought<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This kind of drought is caused when water reservoirs, man-made and natural, experience depletion due to high temperatures. This can affect agriculture and hydel projects.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Meteorological_Drought\"><\/span><strong>Meteorological Drought<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This kind of drought is caused due to insufficient precipitation. There is not much water in the soil or water reservoirs for the rain cycle and hence a drought is caused.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Agricultural_Drought\"><\/span><strong>Agricultural Drought<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This kind of drought is caused due to many reasons. Insufficient precipitation, high levels of evapo-transpiration and reduced groundwater table can pose serious threats to agriculture and related industries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Inadequate_Agricultural_Practices\"><\/span><strong>Inadequate Agricultural Practices<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rainwater harvesting and creating storage and reservoirs for storing water is an important and essential step to prevent droughts. However, in many regions such practices are not followed and this results in severe losses in case of droughts.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Droughts are one of the scariest and deadliest natural calamities. Droughts have claimed innumerable lives in India in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Since agriculture is one of the main livelihood sources in India and it is dependent on rainfall and water supply, a shortage in water affects agriculture badly resulting in famine and &#8230; <a title=\"Top 10 Reasons for Droughts in India\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/top-10-reasons-for-droughts-in-india\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Top 10 Reasons for Droughts in India\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-know-india"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1791,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715\/revisions\/1791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saralstudy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}