Study links drought and groundwater

MUMBAI: A study that reconstructed droughts and famines across India over the last 146 years says lack of moisture in the soil for extended periods of time can be linked to some of the most devastating famines.

Previous attempts to study 18th and 19th century droughts have been limited to meteorological droughts caused by failure of rains. The latest study – conducted by Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-GN), University of California, and the India Meteorological Department, Pune — for the first time links decline in soil moisture to droughts and famines. It is important because g r o u n d wat e r , whi c h can improve soil moisture during drought, is being depleted rapidly.

“Drought causes depletion of soil moisture and groundwater. Moreover, to replenish soil moisture, groundwater abstraction increases during drought, which f urt her negat i ve l y impacts groundwater storage,” said Vimal Mishra of the department of c i vi l e ngineering, IIT-GN, co-author of the study.

“Over e x p l o i t a t i o n a nd changing rainfall patterns have led to the depletion of groundwater... Lean-density rain over India, which is favourable for recharging groundwater, has declined in the last 30-40 years, and high intensity rainfall has increased,” said Mishra.