21% of India is under threat of drought

The recent data released by the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) shows, one-fifth of India (21.06% of the land area) is facing a drought-like situation, about 62 percent more than last year. Significantly, during this period last year, about 7.86 percent of the country was facing drought-like conditions.

According to the data, 21.06 percent of the country is facing drought-like conditions, the situation of drought is moderate and severe in some places. While 1.63 percent of the area is experiencing extremely dry conditions, 1.73 percent of the area is exceptionally dry. 2.17 percent is severely dry while 8.15 percent is moderately dry.

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21% of India is under threat

According to the latest data released on August 16, 2021, about 7.38 percent of the country's land is abnormally dry.

On the basis of the rainfall pattern in the last two months, some north-eastern states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, and Nagaland have experienced severe to exceptional drought conditions.

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According to the data released by the India Meteorological Department, most of these states have recorded below normal rainfall. According to the data released till August 19, Gujarat has received 48 percent less rainfall than normal, while Odisha has this figure of 29 percent. On the other hand, both the states of Nagaland and Punjab have received 22 percent below normal rainfall, while Chhattisgarh has received 11 percent and Rajasthan has received four percent less rainfall.

According to the estimates based on the index of soil moisture present during the last one month, many districts of Odisha are in the grip of drought. According to media reports, the state government has already instructed the Agriculture Department to prepare a contingency plan to save the Kharif crop.

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