El Niño effect: Kharif crops, winter sowing face stress as drought hits 53% of India
El Niño effect: El Niño has left more than 50% of India grappling with drought conditions, severely affecting kharif crops currently in the fields. Maharashtra has been particularly hard hit, with extreme drought affecting a large part of its agricultural areas. Other key agricultural states are also experiencing varying levels of drought, raising concerns about crop yields and soil moisture…
India's monsoon season is entering its final stages as El Niño-induced drought conditions affect more than half of the country, raising concerns about kharif crops and soil moisture before the winter planting season. According to the India Drought Monitor run by IIT Gandhinagar's Water and Climate Lab, 53.2% of India's landmass is experiencing some level of drought, with the affected area rising from 46% just a week ago.
Thirty-three percent of the country is under moderate drought or worse, 15.4% under severe drought, and 3.8% under extreme drought as of September 9. Only 0.1% is under exceptional drought conditions. The southwest monsoon rainfall remains about 15% below normal, with deficient rainfall across a large portion of the country. The Indian Meteorological Department had previously warned that El Niño might develop during the monsoon rains, forecasting below-normal seasonal rainfall of 92%.
This year has seen a mix of floods and droughts, according to Vimal Mishra, dean of Research and Development at IIT Gandhinagar. The drought assessment combines hydro-meteorological data, satellite products, and global datasets. Certain states are particularly vulnerable, with Maharashtra at 85.2%, Chhattisgarh at 11.91%, and Goa at 94.6% experiencing high levels of drought.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Economy's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
