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The Survival of all living beings is largely dependent on the availability of water.
Any lack of water to satisfy the basic needs of agriculture, domestic needs, livestock, or industry may be termed as a drought.
Further, the drought can be classified into three major types as follows,
i) Meteorological drought
It occurs when there is a reduction in the amount of rainfall below a specific level for a specific period.
ii) Hydrological drought:
Reduction in the level of water in water bodies like streams, rivers and reservoirs.
It is of two types,
It is of two types,
- Surface water drought
- Groundwater drought
iii) Agricultural drought:
It occurs when agricultural production falls due to inadequate rainfall.
India highly depends on the monsoon. Generally, monsoon rainfall is uneven in India. Some regions receive heavy rainfall while other regions get moderate to low. Regions receiving low to very low rainfall are affected by drought.
About \(1/3rd\ \)area of the country is affected by drought. It severely affects \(16\)% of the land area and \(12\)% of the total population of India. The areas that receive an annual rainfall of less than \(60\ cm\ \)are the drought-prone regions of India.
The major areas highly prone to drought are:
1) The arid and semi-arid region from Ahmedabad to Kanpur on one side and from Kanpur to Jalandhar on the other.
2) The dry region lying on the leeward side of the Western Ghats. (mostly leeward side are dry)
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