Monitoring and Managing Agricultural Drought in India - Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought: A Global Study - page 301

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Table 23.2 Impacts of extreme drought conditions in India during 1998-2000

Impact of drought 1998 1999 2000

Number of villages 20069 23406 30583

Population affected (million) 22 26 33

Cattle affected (million) 296 345 400

Damage to crop
(Million ha) 65 78 90

Value (in million US $) 50 76 136

Rainfall deficit -3% -16% -29%

Source: Narain et al. (2000).

The El Ni no/Southern Oscillation (ENSO; chapter 3) weakens the sum-
mer monsoon and is related to drought occurrence in India (WMO, 1994).
During the period from 1871 to 1988, 11 of the 21 droughts were at-
tributed to ENSO phenomenon (WMO, 1994).
Subsidized electricity for irrigation systems operating in drought-prone
areas has led to overexploitation of groundwater for cultivation of crops
like cumin, mustard, wheat, vegetables, and fruits that earn farmers higher
profits. Similarly, subsidized diesel fuel in the country has led to a spurt
in tractor farming, increasing wind erosion, and deteriorating stability of
natural grasslands. This has also contributed to drought and desertification
phenomena.

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Drought Monitoring Methods

Pr ecipitation Deviation

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi, monitors
droughts based on the deviation of precipitation from the normal for each
of 35 meteorological subdivisions in the country. The IMD issues a drought
warning for a subdivision if the precipitation deviation for the subdivision
is greater than 25% of the long-term average normal. Drought is consid-
ered to be moderate if the annual rainfall lies in the range of 25-50% of the
normal and severe if annual rainfall is less than 50% of the normal. An area
is classified as drought prone if it experiences drought conditions in 20% of
the years and as a chronically drought prone if the area experiences drought
conditions at least 40% of the years in a multiyear period (NCA, 1976).

C rop Watch Group

During the 1979-80 period of drought, the Ministry of Agriculture set up
a Crop Watch Group that consisted of representatives from the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, India Meteorological Department, Indian Council of
Agricultural Research, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The
group provides weekly reports on rainfall, agricultural operations, water