What is Drought and What Causes it?

Drought is a complex phenomenon which is difficult to monitor. Drought impacts many sectors of the economy and it occurs on different time scales. The 4 types of droughts and its causes are listed below.

1. Meteorological Drought – Occurs due to persisting dry weather in an area.
2. Hydrological Drought – It happens due to low water availability in reservoirs, streams, and depleted groundwater levels. This type of drought happens after many months of meteorological drought. 
3. Agricultural Drought – It occurs when crops are affected by droughts.
4. Socio economic drought – It occurs when supply and demand are affected by droughts.

Aspirants would find this topic very helpful in the IAS Exam.

What is the Most Drought Prone State in India?

The major drought prone states of India and their respective regions heavily affected by repeated droughts are listed below.

1. Telangana – Khammam and Mahabubnagar districts
2. Maharashtra – Marathwada region
3. Karnataka – North Karnataka
4. Orissa – Mayurbhanj and Balasore regions. 
5. Gujarat – Kutch and Saurashtra region
6. Rajasthan – Bikaner, Jaisalmer Districts

Is India Still in Drought?

Approximately 60% of India’s agriculture is dependent on rains. As per latest NITI Aayog report the country’s demand for water will be 2 times more than the availability of water supply. More than 80% of districts in Karnataka and 70% districts in the state of Maharashtra have been declared as drought affected. Currently nearly 2,00,000 people in India die due to lack of access to safe drinking water. As per one of the reports, 40% of the population may not have access to safe drinking water.

How can we Control or Solve Drought?

Some of the measures that can be taken to control or solve the problem of drought are listed below.

1. Desalination of water
2. Rainwater harvesting
3. Drip irrigation
4. Harvesting water from air – technology has been developed by MIT.
5. Genetically modified crops
6. Plant more trees
7. Recycle organic waste

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2020.

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