PUNE: The climate change-induced diminishing monsoon is expanding the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra, particularly Marathwada.
This was revealed in a study conducted by multiple experts from across the world and published in the peer-reviewed Springer-Nature journal 'Environmental Monitoring and Assessment' on June 30. The water bodies in the affected areas continued to diminish during the pre-monsoon season, the study stated. It observed "a constant decline" in Marathwada's ability to use water for irrigation and other purposes during the days preceding the rains.
The study also warned of rising heat and reducing groundwater table which may worsen the water crisis in Latur, and also its neighbouring districts if no mitigation measures were taken.
Other Marathwada districts, such as Beed, Osmanabad, Aurangabad and Jalna, and parts of north Maharashtra, such as Nanded and Dhule, were also vulnerable with the agrarian communities susceptible to the effects of droughts on various crops like sorghum and sugar cane, the authors of the study warned.
The study monitored the drought pattern for pre- and post-monsoon seasons in a semi-arid region of western India and documented the increasing drought condition in Latur from 1996 to 2016 with satellite data on parameters like vegetation and water.
The study also developed a list of recommendations, including issuing forecasts 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 Millia Islamia, New Delhi, said, "The main reason for the frequent droughts and the rising area under drought in Latur is the climate change-induced declining monsoon rain in the region."
He said, "Availability of water for irrigation and other activities during the pre-monsoon season is consistently declining in the region. There is an immediate need for the state and the Centre to take up the drought mitigation planning as a matter of national interest, as countless lives are at stake."
Latur region experiences droughts every 8-9 years. This leads to a shortage of water and reduction in agricultural activities. Drought is a serious issue for the people of Latur, as over 60% of them survive on agriculture.
The area under very high drought (measured by temperature condition index, or TCI, which is used to analyze the stress brought on by temperature difference) increased to 664 sq km from 58 sq km (1,045% rise) for the pre-monsoon season and to 489 sq km from 44 sq to (1,009%) for the post-monsoon season between 1996 and 2016.
