Significant increase in area classified as high, very high, severely drought-prone in Marathwada: Study
The study was published in the peer-reviewed Springer Nature journal ‘Environmental Monitoring and Assessment’ on April 5 this year
Decreasing rain during the monsoon – seen as a result of climate change – is sounding a warning bell for Latur district in Maharashtra. A recent study has revealed that both before and after the monsoon, there has been a significant increase in the area classified as high, very high, or severely drought-prone in the Marathwada region of the state. The study was published in the peer-reviewed Springer Nature journal ‘Environmental Monitoring and Assessment’ on April 5 this year.
The study – monitoring drought pattern during the pre- and post- monsoon season in a semi-arid region of western India – documented increasing drought condition in the Latur district between 1996 and 2016 using satellite data across various parameters such as vegetation and water. The study also developed a list of recommendations, including forecasting and monitoring the extent of drought-rising priority.
Dr Atiqur Rahman, corresponding author of the study and professor at the department of geography, faculty of natural sciences, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, said that the main reason behind frequent drought and increasing area under drought in Latur is the climate change-induced declining monsoon rain in the region.
“The availability of water for irrigation and other activities during the pre-monsoon season is reducing consistently in the region. The Latur region experiences drought after every eight to nine years resulting in shortage of water and reduced agricultural activity. More than 60% of the people in Latur are engaged in agriculture, making drought a serious issue,” said Rahman. He added that there is an immediate need for the state and the centre to take up drought mitigation planning as a matter of national interest as countless lives are at stake.
“The area under very high drought, measured by the temperature condition index (TCI), which is used to analyse the stress brought on by temperature difference, increased from 58 to 664 sq km for the pre-monsoon season and from 44 to 489 sq km for the post-monsoon season between 1996 and 2016. While this is happening, the area affected by extremely high drought has grown from 1,269 to 1,788 sq km for the post-monsoon season and from 2,140 to 3,964 sq km for the pre-monsoon season, according to the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), which is used to evaluate vegetation health as compared to historical trends,” said Rahman. He added that due to climate change and rainfall shortage, drought has had a long history in the Latur district and occurs frequently.
“There are four different categories of drought throughout the entire region: low, moderate, high, and severe. Although there were a few areas with high drought grades in 1996, the number of drought-affected areas has grown over time. More than half of the territory is under drought now,” said Rahman.
The study found that water bodies in the area have continued to diminish during the pre-monsoon season. It also noted a constant decline in the region’s ability to use water for irrigation and other purposes during the pre-monsoon season. The authors of the study have warned that beyond Latur, other districts in Marathwada and other parts of north Maharashtra such as Beed, Osmanabad, Jalna, Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Nanded and Dhule are vulnerable as well, with agrarian communities susceptible to the catastrophic effects of drought on crops such as sorghum, pearl millet and sugarcane among others.
