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'Drought in India' has resulted in tens of millions of deaths over the course of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Indian agriculture is heavily dependent on the climate of India: a favorable southwest summer monsoon is critical in securing water for irrigating Indian crops. In some parts of India, the failure of the monsoons result in water shortages, resulting in below-average crop yields. This is particularly true of major drought-prone regions such as southern and eastern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.

Contents

History

Impact of El Niño

References

Citations

Further reading

External links

History

In the past, droughts have periodically led to major Indian famines, including the Bengal famine of 1770, in which up to one third of the population in affected areas died; the 1876–1877 famine, in which over five million people died; the 1899 famine, in which over 4.5 million died; and the Bengal famine of 1943, in which over five million died from starvation and famine-related illnesses.^[1][2]

Impact of El Niño

All such episodes of severe drought correlate with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events.^[3][4] El Niño-related droughts have also been implicated in periodic declines in Indian agricultural output.^[5] Nevertheless, ENSO events that have coincided with abnormally high sea surfaces temperatures in the Indian Ocean—in one instance during 1997 and 1998 by up to 3 °C (5 °F)—have resulted in increased oceanic evaporation, resulting in unusually wet weather across India. Such anomalies have occurred during a sustained warm spell that began in the 1990s.^[6] A contrasting phenomenon is that, instead of the usual high pressure air mass over the southern Indian Ocean, an ENSO-related oceanic low pressure convergence center forms; it then continually pulls dry air from Central Asia, desiccating India during what should have been the humid summer monsoon season. This reversed air flow causes India's droughts.^[7] The extent that an ENSO event raises sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean influences the degree of drought.

References

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Citations

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3. Unraveling the Mystery of Indian Monsoon Failure During El Niño, Kumar KK, Rajagopatan B, Hoerling Master Bates G, Cane M, , , Science, 2006
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Further reading

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External links

; General overview

★ Country Guide: India

★ India—Weather and Climate
; Maps, imagery, and statistics

★ India Meteorological Department

★ Weather Resource System for India
; Forecasts

★ India: Current Weather Conditions