More flash droughts in India by end of century
4 years, 2 months ago

More flash droughts in India by end of century

The Hindu  

In 1979, India faced a severe flash drought, affecting about 40% of the country and taking a toll on agriculture. If we can meet the ‘Paris Agreement’ goals and limit global warming to well below 2 degrees C, the numbers and frequency of the projected flash droughts may go down,” says Vimal Mishra from the Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar. The top five flash droughts based on the overall severity score occurred in 1979 followed by 2009,1951,1986 and 2005. To predict the future flash droughts the team used a Community Earth System Model which simulates the summer monsoon precipitation, sea surface temperature, role of El Nino Southern Oscillation, and air temperature over India. “The frequency of concurrent hot and dry extremes is projected to rise by about five-fold, causing an approximately seven-fold increase in flash droughts like 1979 by the end of the 21st century,” adds the paper.

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History of this topic

Over 85% of Indian districts exposed to extreme climate events: Study
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Over 85% of Indian districts exposed to extreme climate events: Study

The Hindu  

More than 85% of districts in India are exposed to extreme climate events such as floods, droughts and cyclones, according to a new study. The study by IPE Global and Esri India also found that 45% of the districts were experiencing a "swapping" trend, where traditionally flood-prone areas were becoming drought-prone and vice versa. Using a penta-decadal analysis, the study …

Warming climate intensifies flash droughts worldwide
10 months ago

Warming climate intensifies flash droughts worldwide

The Hindu  

Sudden, severe dry spells known as flash droughts are rising in intensity around the world, with a notable exception in mountainous Central Asia, where flash drought extent is shrinking, according to new research. Many parts of the world have witnessed flash droughts extending over larger areas, for a longer time, with faster onset speed. South America, particularly southern Brazil and …

Prized Science | Every drop counts, and making quality medicine
1 year, 5 months ago

Prized Science | Every drop counts, and making quality medicine

Hindustan Times  

Vimal Mishra, Vikram Sarabhai Professor of civil engineering at IIT Gandhinagar, has won this year’s Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Science. He discusses his work, which quantifies how water resources have been affected by climate change and human activities, and the relative contribution of these two factors. Our research has demonstrated that while climate change …

Science for All | What are flash droughts?
1 year, 10 months ago

Science for All | What are flash droughts?

The Hindu  

Droughts are periods of continuous water deficit, often caused by a lack of precipitation in a given area. A study, published in the journal Science on April 13, reported that climate change is intensifying flash droughts worldwide. In the last 64 years, more than 74% of the world’s regions identified by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s ‘Special Report …

As Earth warms, more 'flash droughts' will suck soil and plants dry
1 year, 11 months ago

As Earth warms, more 'flash droughts' will suck soil and plants dry

The Hindu  

Climate change is making droughts faster and more furious, especially a specific fast-developing heat-driven kind that catch farmers by surprise, a new study found. Swain called the issue “very relevant in a warming climate.” The term flash drought was coined around 2000 but it really took off in 2012, when a $30 billion sudden drought struck the central United States, …

Rapid droughts coming on faster over majority of world. Will it impact India?
1 year, 11 months ago

Rapid droughts coming on faster over majority of world. Will it impact India?

Hindustan Times  

Rapid onsets of drought, also called flash droughts, have been occurring frequently with greater speed in many parts of the world as a result of climate change, according to a new study. The study, which was published in Science, quoted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Extreme Events data and said a significant transition towards flash droughts …

As Earth warms, more ‘flash droughts’ suck soil, plants dry
1 year, 11 months ago

As Earth warms, more ‘flash droughts’ suck soil, plants dry

Associated Press  

Climate change is making droughts faster and more furious, especially a specific fast-developing heat-driven kind that catch farmers by surprise, a new study found. “For the 2012 drought, actually the drought just developed in a very severe condition just within a month.” Most of China’s Yangtze River basin last summer was struck by a flash drought that developed within only …

Global warming making India vulnerable to extreme weather events
2 years, 1 month ago

Global warming making India vulnerable to extreme weather events

Live Mint  

India is likely to witness more extreme weather events, including intense heat waves, heavy flooding and severe drought that pose challenges to food and energy security for the second-most populous nation. Erratic weather conditions expose millions of Indians to climate disasters, kill thousands every year and increase economic hardships by eroding farm productivity. Deadly heat waves strained energy supplies and …

Indian subcontinent is prone to catastrophic prolonged droughts, claims study
2 years, 6 months ago

Indian subcontinent is prone to catastrophic prolonged droughts, claims study

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A new study that recreated hundreds of years of historical monsoon summer data finds the …

Climate crisis: India now confronts a drought
3 years, 7 months ago

Climate crisis: India now confronts a drought

Hindustan Times  

Drought-like conditions are setting in over most parts of Gujarat, west Rajasthan and some districts of Odisha that have recorded significant rain deficiency during the monsoon, according to Standard Precipitation Index data for August maintained by the India Meteorological Department. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which was released earlier this month, has warned that the South Asian …

Droughts in India were caused by atmospheric disturbances in the North Atlantic ocean
4 years, 3 months ago

Droughts in India were caused by atmospheric disturbances in the North Atlantic ocean

Firstpost  

The IISc study said that these droughts were a consequence of a sudden and steep drop in rainfall in late August. Nearly half of the droughts that occurred during the Indian summer monsoon season in the past century may have been driven by atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region, finds a new study. This drop was linked to an …

India’s Longest Drought: 41-month-long Dry Spell From 2015-18 Was Longest in 150 years, Finds Study
5 years, 5 months ago

India’s Longest Drought: 41-month-long Dry Spell From 2015-18 Was Longest in 150 years, Finds Study

News 18  

As the dispute over their ancestral property was growing more acrimonious by the day, 40-year-old farmer Murat Singh Yadav and his brother Charan Singh decided a partition was the only way to tamp down the discord. And, although not the deadliest, it had a “remarkable impact on reservoir and groundwater storage” suggesting that such long-term droughts could impact “water security …

From North to South, 60 Crore Indians Face Severe Water Crisis
5 years, 9 months ago

From North to South, 60 Crore Indians Face Severe Water Crisis

The Quint  

Districts in Karnataka have shut schools for an extra week due to water scarcity. There is no respite in sight anytime soon as the southwest monsoon this year, responsible for 80% of India’s rainfall, is projected to be delayed and below normal in north and south India. India has been experiencing widespread drought every year since 2015, with the exception …

42% of India’s Land Drought Affected, Worsening Farm Distress in Election Year
5 years, 11 months ago

42% of India’s Land Drought Affected, Worsening Farm Distress in Election Year

The Quint  

States such as Karnataka have opposed the latest drought management manual that came out in December 2016, saying it made it difficult to establish the severity of drought and would drastically reduce assistance from the Centre’s National Disaster Relief Fund. The manual obligates states to assess numerous parameters, based on which an area can be declared drought-hit and assigned a …

Nearly 50% of India currently facing drought, say IIT Gandhinagar scientists
6 years ago

Nearly 50% of India currently facing drought, say IIT Gandhinagar scientists

The Hindu  

Nearly 50% of the country is currently facing drought with at least 16% falling in the “exceptional” or “extreme” category, according to IIT Gandhinagar scientists managing India’s real time drought prediction system. “Arunachal Pradesh did not get good rain this year, and parts of Jharkhand, southern Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and northern part of Tamil Nadu are under drought,” Mr. Mishra …

Where every drop counts
6 years, 2 months ago

Where every drop counts

The Hindu  

Rainfall has been scanty since the conclusion of the southwest monsoon, and several districts across the country have already been affected by drought in 2018-19. According to the Manual for Drought Management by the Department of Agriculture, there are six major data indicators which portend drought: Rainfall, crop sown area, reservoir levels, satellite-based crop conditions, stream flow and groundwater levels. …

Opinion | India’s neglected groundwater crisis
6 years, 4 months ago

Opinion | India’s neglected groundwater crisis

Live Mint  

India’s over-exploitation of groundwater is contributing to—as stated by NITI Aayog—“the worst water crisis in its history”. In fact, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Water Development Report states that India is the largest extractor of groundwater in the world. An analysis of panel data across 370 districts in India found that a reduction in electricity subsidy …

New Drought Manual May Aggravate Farm Distress
7 years, 2 months ago

New Drought Manual May Aggravate Farm Distress

The Quint  

The Indian government is leaving no stone unturned to fight the occurrence of drought in the country. The Manual for Drought Management, released in December 2016 by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, prescribes “new scientific indices and parameters” for a “more accurate assessment of drought” in the country. The five categories of indices listed in the new …

Heat waves and droughts occured much more frequently over the past three years in India, says study
7 years, 4 months ago

Heat waves and droughts occured much more frequently over the past three years in India, says study

India Today  

Researchers from Indian Institute of Science have found that frequency of heat waves accompanied by drought has increased in magnitude and in area over the past three decades in India. Highlights of the story: It was found that percentage increase in frequency of heat waves along with drought were most significant in parts of Maharashtra and Southern Gujarat, Karnataka and …

Drought affects 90 lakh farmers in Maharashtra
10 years, 1 month ago

Drought affects 90 lakh farmers in Maharashtra

India TV News  

New Delhi: According to official data, nearly 90 lakh farmers in Maharasthra have been adversely affected by the drought. Two weeks ago, the state government officially declared that 60% of its villages were facing a "drought-like condition". Farmers in the state are facing severe agrarian distress," said state relief and rehabilitation secretary K H Govinda Raj. Vidarbha-based farmer activist Vijay …

El Nino worries
10 years, 8 months ago

El Nino worries

The Hindu  

AS reports of the chances of El Nino developing this year gain ground, countries across the world prepare to brace for the impact of the phenomenon that originates from the Pacific Ocean. The IMD and the private forecaster Skymet Weather Services concur that El Nino may hit India in the second half of the monsoon period. However, it may be …

33 districts in Bihar declared drought-hit
11 years, 6 months ago

33 districts in Bihar declared drought-hit

India TV News  

Patna: Taking into account deficient rainfall this year, Bihar government on Wednesday declared 33 out of the 38 districts of state as drought-hit. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister Nitish Kumar.Principal secretary Brajesh Mehrotra and the principal secretary Vyasji said the decision was taken because of deficient rainfall in these districts at 20 …

Drought-like situation hits nearly one lakh farmers
12 years, 1 month ago

Drought-like situation hits nearly one lakh farmers

The Hindu  

A report on drought-like situation in Tirupur district by Department of Agriculture, which was accessed by The Hindu, has stated that 92,327 farmers were affected during the current financial year. On the cropping area, the drought-like situation had taken a toll on 75,879 hectares brought under cultivation of various crops over kharif and rabi seasons during this fiscal till December …

Managing drought
15 years, 7 months ago

Managing drought

The Hindu  

The editorial “Drought and crisis management” is an eye-opener. P. Ravikumar, Khammam *** The editorial should be read by crisis managers for follow-up action to tackle drought. Free distribution of food grains through the PDS, agricultural subsidies, alternative employment and a check on the prices of essential commodities are some steps the government should take to mitigate their suffering. G. …

Drought and crisis management
15 years, 7 months ago

Drought and crisis management

The Hindu  

The South-West monsoon has proved to be unpredictable, variable, and uncertain this year — with the official announcement that 177 districts suffer from either drought or drought-like conditions indicating the magnitude of the crisis. The first priority for the National Crisis Management Committee chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be to ensure that the drought relief and rehabilitation programmes …

Number of drought-hit districts rises to 177
15 years, 7 months ago

Number of drought-hit districts rises to 177

The Hindu  

With the India Meteorological Department declaring on Thursday a deficiency of 29 per cent in the southwest monsoon, the number of drought-affected districts has risen to 177. Speaking to The Hindu here on Thursday, Mr. Pawar said 177 districts were affected by “drought or drought-like” situation. “Central teams are ready to tour these States but on their request, they will …

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