The state of Rajasthan is popularly known as the Desert State of India is

Transcription

1 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its FLOODS IN RAJASTHAN The state of Rajasthan is popularly known as the Desert State of India is largely water deficit yet there are incidents of flood in that state and there are flood prone regions as well. The term "flood" relates to two events in Rajasthan firstly, flooding of river and its catchment under the influence of excessive rainfall depending on the topography of the regions through which the rivers flows. The second event is related to the cloudburst that might happen in a specific area. The floods in rivers mostly occur either due to very heavy rainfall for a few days concentrated in a specific catchment or due to the obstructions that are caused either because of human interference by bridges or embankments that restrict the flow of the river or natural choking of river bed. Other than these the flooding in urban areas occurs usually because lack of proper planning, choking of damage systems and unplanned growth of the settlements during monsoons. It is seen that most of the floods in India occur during the south-west monsoon season. The State Water Resource Plan enlists 14 river basins in the state along with an outside basin which includes the areas not covered under any river basin. There are 59 sub-basins of these 14 main basins. FLOOD PRONE REGIONS OF RAJASTHAN The flood prone regions in the state lie in of Ajmer, Alwar, Baran, Barmer, Bharatpur, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Jalore, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Sirohi and Udaipur districts. These regions spread across the Basins and Sub-Basins of the rivers Banas, Banganga, Chambal, Ghaggar, Luni, Mahi,

2 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Sabi, Shekhawati, Sukli and West Banas. Flood prone districts and areas in the State as listed in the Flood Manual of Rajasthan are as follows: 1. River Banas: This River floods at Uniara and Khasoli at the Bundi district. The flooding in Udaipur City region is because of River Banas. 2. River Bandi: This River flows in the Sub-Basin of Luni River and brings floods to Pandiv and Jadwal regions in Sirohi district and Siynna and Bagra of Jalore district. 3. River Bundh Hemawas: the flooding at Pali District s Pali city, Kharchi and Gurwara is done by River Bundh Hemawas flowing in the Sub-Basin of River Luni. 4. River Banganga: River Banganga floods the Kaman, Pahi, Deeg, Bayana, Roopwas and Bharatpur City of the Bharatpur District. 5. River Berach: the flooding at the Chittorgarh city and Sambhurpura of the Chittorgarh District happens due to the action of River Berach which flows in the Sub-Basin of River Banas. 6. River Chambal: Kathun and Kota city get flooded due to the River Chambal swelling in this region. 7. River Ghaggar: River Ghaggar floods the regions of Pilibangan, Suratgarh, Jetsar and Srivijaynagar of SriGanganagar district and some region of Hanumangarh town as well. 8. River Jawai: River Jawai flows in the Luni s Sub-Basin and floods the Ahore and Jalore city regions of Jalore district.

3 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its River Jojri: The flooding at Jodhpur District s Benar, Barliya and Kalyanpura is done by River Jojri s action in the Sub-Basin of River Luni. 10. River Kalisindh: River Kalisindh flows in the Sub-Basin of River Chambal. This river floods in Kota district at Khajuri and Sangod and in Jhalawar district at Jhalawar City and Richwa. 11. River Luni: The River Luni creates flooding in the Ajmer city; Barmer District s Balotra and Sindri, Gudha; Jodhpur District s Bilara, Kakelav, Kankani and Dudiya; and Jalore District s Chitalwana and Bhawatra. 12. River Mashi: The Bichun region of Jaipur district gets flood affected due to the action of River Mashi, which flows in the Sub-Basin of River Banas. 13. River Mej: The tributary of River Chambal, River Mej floods the areas of Bundi City. 14. River Mehdha: River Mehdha which flows in the Sub-Basin of River Shekhawati floods at Kuchaman of Nagaur District. 15. River Morel: The flooding in Sanganer Region of Jaipur district is because of River Morel, which flows in Sub-Basin of River Banas. 16. River Parwan: River Parwan, a tributary of river Chambal brings floods in Manohar Thana of Jhalawar district. 17. River Parwati: It is a tributary of River Chambal, which brings floods at Chhabra, Parlee and Keralahr of Jhalawar district. The River also floods in the Baran City of Baran district.

4 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its River Sabi: River Sabi floods in the Kotkasim, Tapukara and Patiabad regions of Alwar district. 19. River Sagi: Nimbawas and Jaswantpura of the Jalore district get flooded due to River Sagi which flows in the Sub-Basin of River Luni. 20. River Som: Chiliwod and Jhadol region of Udaipur district experience flooding due to River Som, which flows in the Sub-Basin of River Mahi. 21. River Sukli: The River Sukli floods at Karaunti of Sirohi district. 22. River Sukri: This river flowing in the Sub-Basin of the Luni river floods in the Rani and Chanod regions of Pali District; and Bhavrani, Rama and Debawas of Jalore district. 23. River West Banas: The Abu Road town gets flooded due to river west Banas in the Sirohi district.

5 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its HISTORY OF FLOODS IN RAJASTHAN In the desert state of Rajasthan there have been instances when the state has had excess average annual rainfall in a particular year and that year is categorized as a flood year. The following chapter mentions the flood years that have been observed in the 30 years ranging from 1980 and The degree of effectiveness of flood depends on the amount of excess of rainfall. If the excess of rainfall is 25 to 50 percent above the average rainfall of a specific region then it is identified as Moderate Flood. Severe Flood is the situation when the rainfall is more than 50 percent in a region. There have been multiple flood years in past 30 years ranging from 1980 and 2009 in all the districts of Rajasthan. This categorization is done on the basis of the average annual rainfall received at that centre as compared to the average rainfall of the observed 30 years. The percentage of departure of average annual rainfall was compared from the average rainfall received during 1980 and The calculations have been tabulated in Table 10. Based on this percentage each year district wise was categorized as Moderate Flood and Severe Flood years. Table 10: Categorization of Floods in Rajasthan ( ) Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall AJMER Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood

6 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall ALWAR Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood BANSWARA Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood BARAN Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood BARMER Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood BHARATPUR Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood

7 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall BHILWARA Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood BIKANER Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood BUNDI Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood CHITTORGARH Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood CHURU Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood

8 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall Percentage of Departure Category of Flood DAUSA Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood DHOLPUR Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood DUNGARPUR Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood GANGANAGAR Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood

9 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall HANUMANGARH Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood JAIPUR Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood JAISALMER Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood JALORE Severe Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood

10 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall Percentage of Departure Category of Flood JHALAWAR Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood JHUNJHUNU Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood JODHPUR Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood KARAULI Severe Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood KOTA Moderate Flood Severe Flood

11 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood NAGAUR Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood PALI Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood

12 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall Percentage of Departure Category of Flood PRATAPGARH Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood RAJSAMAND Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood SAWAI MADHOPUR Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood SIKAR Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood

13 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average Rainfall SIROHI Percentage of Departure Category of Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood TONK Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood UDAIPUR Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Severe Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Moderate Flood Source:

14 Ajmer Alwar Banswara Baran Barmer Bharatpur Bhilwara Bikaner Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Dausa Dholpur Dungarpur Sri Ganganagar Hanumangarh Jaipur Jaisalmer Jalore Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jodhpur Karauli Kota Nagaur Pali Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sirohi Tonk Udaipur Number of Years Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Graph 19 depicts the district wise frequency of Moderate Flood and Severe Flood years in the state. Graph - 19 District wise Frequency of Severe and Moderate Flood Years in Rajasthan ( ) Severe Flood Years Moderate Flood Years Districts History of floods in Rajasthan: 1. Ajmer The Ajmer district has witnessed 3 severe and 2 moderate floods in the past 30 years. In the year 1983, 1996 and 1997 the rainfall was 76.9, 71.2 and 66.0 percent respectively above the average causing severe floods. Year 1990 and 1994 had rainfall 31.6 and 46.7 percent respectively above the normal causing moderate flooding. It can be seen that there is no flooding in the district during 2000s and the maximum number of floods came during 1990s. 2. Alwar There have been 4 instances of severe floods in the Alwar district in the past 30 years and 2 instances of moderate floods. In the years 1983, 1995, 1996 and 2008

15 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its the percentage of rainfall was 61.9, 78.8, 88.3 and 61.0 percent respectively more than the average making them severe flood years and 2003 are moderate flood years having rainfall 31.7 and 40.0 percent respectively more than the average. Here 1995 and 1996 are 2 consecutive severe rainfall years. 3. Banswara Year 1984, 1994 and 2004 have been the years of moderate floods in the Banswara district. During these years the rainfall has been 38.0, 45.9 and 34.2 percent respectively more than the district average of last 30 years ranging from 1980 to Severe flood was witnessed during 2006 and 2007 when the rain was percent and 62.1 percent respectively. It can be seen that every 10 th year the district has had the occurrence of moderate flood in the district. 4. Baran The district had no instances of severe flooding during the observed years, whereas, there are 3 occurrences of moderate floods. In 1991 the rainfall was 28.2 percent respectively above the average. Year 1996 and 1997 had consecutive flooding for 2 years when the rainfall was 44.8 percent and 34.9 percent respectively above the average. 5. Barmer The desert district of Barmer has experienced flood situation for 6 years. The flood occurred during alternate years from 1988 to 1994, i.e. 1988, 1990, 1992 and 1994 when the rainfall was above the average rainfall by 111.5, 105.1, 35.2 and 37.5 percent respectively. Year 2003 and 2006 experienced severe floods and the rainfall exceeded 91.8 and 145.1percent respectively from the average rainfall mark.

16 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Bharatpur The Bharatpur district had consecutive moderate floods during when the rainfall was 26.7 and 49.9 percent respectively above the average. The year 2003 had 41.7 percent rainfall above the average and 2008 had 31.8 percent above the average rainfall classifying these years as moderate flood years. 7. Bhilwara The Bhilwara had 4 occurrences of moderate floods and no severe flood year. Year 1982, 1994, 1996 and 2006 received rainfall 46.6, 35.7, 39.9 and 42.3 percent respectively above the average. Here the alternate years 1994 and 1996 were classified as flood years. 8. Bikaner In the year 1981, 1982 and 1997 received rainfall 57.1, and 57.1 percent respectively above the average. Hence, these years are classified as severe rainfall years. The years 1992, 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2008 are moderate flood years where the rainfall was 37.9, 27.0, 28.0, 26.3 and 49.8 percent respectively above the average. Here, 1981 and 1982; 1996 and 1997 are consecutive and 2003 and 2005 are alternate flood years. 9. Bundi The only year which has been classified as severe flood year in the district is 1994 when the rainfall was 51.3 percent above the average. The years 1982, 1996 and 2001 have been classified as moderate drought years as the rainfall received in these years has been 29.2, 38.3 and 45.5 percent respectively. 10. Chittorgarh In 2006 the rainfall exceeded the average rainfall by 65.9 percent and hence the year is classified as severe flood year of Chittorgarh district. Years 1983, 1994,

17 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its and 2004 had rainfall 31.5, 36.0, 32.1 and 41.2 percent respectively above the average. Here, 1994, 1995, 2004 and 2006 are alternate flood years. 11. Churu Years 1983 and 1997 have been the 2 severe flood years in the district in the observed 30 years when the rainfall was 70.6 and 51.9 percent respectively above the average rainfall of the district. Moderate flood years were 1982, 1988, 1992 and 2008 as the annual rainfall received was 29.0, 49.7, 30.8 and 47.2 percent respectively above the average. Here 1982 and 1983 were 2 consecutive flood years. 12. Dausa There are 3 occurrences of both moderate and severe floods in the district. Year 1981, 1995 and 1996 are severe flood years where the rainfall was 51.8, and percent respectively above the average. Years 1983, 1992 and 2008 had rainfall of 34.2, 33.8 and 31.6 percent respectively above the average; hence, these 3 years are classified as moderate flood years. 13. Dholpur Year 2008 is the only year of severe floods in the Dholpur district when the annual average rainfall was 81.5 percent more than the average. The 1990 decade saw 3 moderate flood years in the district. Here, in 1992, 1995 and 1996 the average annual rainfall was 30.9, 34.8 and 49.8 percent respectively above the average rainfall of the district. Here 1995 and 1996 are 2 consecutive flood years in the district. 14. Dungarpur The district had 2 each, moderate and severe flood years in the district. In 1984 and 1990 the annual average rainfall was 36.5 and 28.1 percent respectively above the average hence these 2 years have been classified as moderate flood years.

18 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Years 1994 and 2006 are the severe flood years where the average annual rainfall was 65 percent and percent respectively above the district average. 15. Ganganagar In the Ganganagar district the years 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985 and years 2006, 2007 and 2008 are consecutive flood years in the district. Years 1982, 1983, 1996, 2003, 2007 and 2008 are classified as severe flood years as the annual average rainfall received in these years was 75.0, 123.8, 318.4, 57.3, 99.7 and 88.2 percent respectively above the average rainfall of the year. The moderate flood years are 1984, 1985 and 2006 as the average annual rainfall was 41.2, 41.5 and 27.1 percent respectively above the average rainfall of Ganganagar district. 16. Hanumangarh There have been 6 occurrences of moderate and 2 of severe flooding in the Hanumangarh district in the observed 30 years. It has been seen that there is consecutive occurrence flood of years in the district, i.e and 1983; 1994 and 1995; 1997 and 1998; 2007 and Here the years 1982, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2007 and 2008 are considered as moderate flood years as the annual average rainfall was 25.4, 28.6, 48.2, 32.1, 45.3 and 31.1 percent respectively above the average rainfall of the district respectively. The years 1983 and 1997 were severe rainfall years with rainfall exceeding the average by 67.0 and 56.4 percent respectively. 17. Jaipur There have been 3 occurrences of severe and 2 moderate flood years in the district in the observed time span. Year 1981 and 1983 saw alternate severe floods along with Here the annual average rainfall was 78.3, 87.7 and percent

19 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its respectively above the average rainfall of the district. Years 2003 and 2004 consecutively received rainfall 43.3 and 29.7 percent respectively above the average hence these years are considered as moderate flood years. 18. Jaisalmer There have been 3 severe and 6 moderate flood years in the Jaisalmer district from 1980 to Years 1983, 1999 and 2006 received rainfall 52.1, 57.2 and 60.9 percent respectively above the average and therefore these years are considered as severe flood years. Years 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2007 and 2008 are the moderate flood years as the rainfall was 34.5, 42.7, 32.6, 49.6, 49.0 and 31.1 percent respectively above the average. Here, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 and 2008 are consecutive flood years. 19. Jalore At Jalore district only the year 1994 is considered as moderate rainfall year as the rainfall received was 28.1 percent above the average. Here, there are 6 severe flood years i.e. 1983, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2003 and 2006 where the rainfall was 118.7, 82.85, 83.4, 53.4, and percent respectively above the average. Here, 1990, 1992 and 1994 are alternate flood years. 20. Jhalawar The district has 2006 as only severe flood year as the rainfall exceeded the average rainfall by 72.6 percent. The moderate flood years were 1982, 1985 and 1999 where the rainfall was 29.8, 47.8 and 29.4 percent respectively above the average.

20 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Jhunjhunu At Jhunjhunu district only 1996 have been classified as severe flood year when the rainfall exceeded the average by 69.6 percent. Years 1983, 1988, 1995 and 1997 are moderate flood years with rainfall 29.8, 48.7, 42.3 and 48.3 percent respectively above the average. It can be seen that 1995, 1996 and 1997 are consecutive flood years in the district. 22. Jodhpur At Jodhpur district too we have only one year as the severe flood year i.e when it rained 87.2 percent above the district average. Year 1982, 1990, 1994, 1996 and 2001 received rainfall 45.3, 47.2, 26.1, 30.9 and 37.3 percent respectively above the average and are hence classified as moderate rainfall years. It is also seen that 1982 and 1983 are consecutive flood years. 23. Karauli There are 3 severe and moderate flood years in the district during the observed years. The years 1982, 1983 and 1998 received rainfall 51.7, 62.2 and 52.2 percent respectively above the average and hence are classified as severe flood years. The moderate flood years are 2003 and 2008 with rainfall exceeding the average by 37.9 and 33.8 percent respectively. Here 1982 and 1983 are consecutive flood years. 24. Kota The Kota district had 3 occurrences of severe flood years during the observed years in 1982, 2001 and 2006 when the rainfall exceeded the average rainfall of the district by 51.2, 70.6 and percent respectively. There are 9 years that are classified as moderate flood years, they are 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 200, 2003,

21 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its , 2007 and Here the rainfall was 36.5, 32.3, 29.7, 42.7, 26.1, 34.0, 31.6, 26.1 and 32.3 percent respectively above the average. It can also be observed that the flood years are in clusters from 1981 to 1986 and 2000 to Nagaur Nagaur district had 3 occurrences of each moderate and severe flood years. Year 1983, 1996 and 1997 had rainfall 89.1, 90.1 and 55.9 percent respectively above the average and are hence considered as severe flood years. Years 1995, 2003 and 2008 had rainfall 25.3, 45.8 and 28.5 percent respectively above the average and are categorized as moderate flood years. It is noted that 1995 to 1997 are 3 consecutive flood years in the district. 26. Pali In the Pali district the flood years are concentrated between 1980 to 1983 and 2001 to 2007 only and before and after this period there are no flood years. Year 1980, 1981, 1983, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2007 are severe flood years with rainfall exceeding the average by 57.9, 187.0, 160.8, 70.5, 83.5, and 84.9 percent respectively. The moderate rainfall years are 1982 and 2005 with rainfall excess of 30.4 and Pratapgarh The only occurrence of severe flood year in the district was during 2006 when the rainfall exceeded the average by percent respectively. The moderate flood years of the district during the observed years were 1990, 1996 and 2004 with rainfall 49.1, 28.6 and 39.5 percent respectively above the average.

22 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Rajsamand There has been only 1 occurrence of severe flood in the district in 2009 when the rainfall exceeded the average by 52.1 percent. There are 6 moderate flood years in the district i.e. 1982, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2005 and 2006 when the percentage of rainfall exceeded the average rainfall by 36.9, 48.4, 37.9, and 49.2 respectively. Here it is observed that during 1990 and 1994 flood years were alternate years and 2005 and 2006 are consecutive flood years. 29. Sawai Madhopur There have been 2 instances of each severe and moderate flood years in the district during the observed years, where 1995 and 1996 were consecutive flood years. Year 1983 and 1995 were severe flood years when the rainfall was and 64.3 percent respectively above the average. The years 1996 and 2008 were moderate flood years when the rainfall exceeded the average by 38.7 and 33.4 percent respectively. 30. Sikar The Sikar district had 2 occurrences of severe flood years during 1983 and 1996, during these years the rainfall was 66.5 and 65.9 percent respectively above the average rainfall of the district. Years 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2003 and 2008 are the moderate flood years when the rainfall was 32.0, 25.0, 35.7, 25.5, 27.0 and 37.8 percent above the average respectively. 31. Sirohi At the Sirohi district year 1980 to 1985 are continuous flood years and 2005 are alternate and 2005 to 2007 are again consecutive flood years. Here, during the observed time span there were 6 moderate and 5 severe flood years.

23 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1992 and 2007 received 30.5, 40.5, 33.4, 35.2, 48.1 and 48.7 percent respectively rainfall respectively above average and are classified as moderate flood years whereas, 1983, 1984, 2003, 2005 and 2006 are severe flood years with rainfall 135.6, 59.4, 67.6, 52.0 and percent respectively above the average. 32. Tonk At the Tonk district only 1983 can be classified as severe flood year. Here the rainfall was 79.9 percent above the district average. Year 1981, 1995 and 2003 are moderate flood years where the rainfall received was 47.1, 37.7 and 28.7 percent above the average respectively. 33. Udaipur The district had 2 severe and 9 moderate flood years in the observed 30 years. Years 1982 and 2006 were considered as severe flood years as they received rainfall 80.7 and percent respectively above the average. The years 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are moderate flood years as the rainfall received was 32.5, 43.4, 48.4, 34.0, 35.8, 43.1, and 31.3 percent respectively. Here it is interesting to note that from 1980 to 1985 and 2004 to 2009 are consecutive flood years. The description shows that the frequency of floods has at many districts increased during the last decade. All the districts have witnessed heavy rainfall leading to moderate and severe flood years except Baran and Bhilwara district which have no severe flood year during the observed 30 years. The decadal frequency of floods in Rajasthan has been depicted in Graph - 20.

24 Ajmer Alwar Baran Barmer Banswara Bharatpur Bhilwara Bikaner Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Dausa Dholpur Dungarpur Ganganagar Hanumangarh Jaipur Jaisalmer Jalore Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jodhpur Karauli Kota Nagaur Pali Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sirohi Tonk Udaipur No. of Occurances Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Graph District-wise Decadal Frequency of Floods in Rajasthan ( ) Districts

25 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its IMPACT OF FLOOD In the Desert State of India i.e. Rajasthan flooding happens either due to flooding of rivers due to excessive rainfall or due to cloudbursts. In many cases floods occur due to human interference or lack of planning especially the urban floods. The flood prone regions in the state lie in of Ajmer, Alwar, Baran, Barmer, Bharatpur, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Jalore, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kota, Nagaur, Pali, Sirohi and Udaipur districts. During the rural survey, the Sarkapaar Dhaani of the Kawas Village in the Baaytu Block of Barmer district was covered to study flood impact. Figure 4 shows the research scholar interviewing one of the families. This village had witnessed floods during the monsoon season of These floods are believed to be the worst floods to hit this desert region in over 300 years. Impact of floods was suffered majorly by agriculture, livestock and humans. Figure 4 Surveyor interviewing a family at Sarkapaar Dhaani of Kawas Village, Barmer

26 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Impact on Water Resources: During the flood the Sarkapaar Dhaani was under 15 to 20 feet water. This negatively affected all the sources of clean or drinkable water in the area. All the tanka, wells etc. were contaminated. Cultivation: The entire dhaani was submerged in water and hence adversely affected the agricultural as the entire monsoon crop was damaged. Livestock: According to an estimate approximately 75,000 cattle had perished during these floods. Socio Economic Issues: The biggest threat after flood was curbing the spread of diseases like Diarrhea, Dysentery, Malaria, skin infections, Jaundice, Typhoid and Cholera. Another major problem was that the road, electricity and communication network were totally damaged. Also the rotting carcasses of the thousands of animals had created the fears of water-borne diseases. The incidents of snake bite had increased as the floodwaters forced them and the other rodents on to surface. The impact on land use was that the entire cultivated area had turned barren. Natural vegetation was completely spoiled. New species of tree locally known as Jauda tree has been introduced in the region due to floods. The entire region turned in to a lake and hence land use categories could not be differentiated. There was a large scale loss of life property and infra structure. The government authorities along with NGOs and other agencies tried to handle disaster in a manner that the losses can be minimized and the lives of the people could be saved.

27 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its FLOOD MANAGEMENT In the previous topic we have seen that the state witnesses flood years and there are regions which are flood prone in the state of Rajasthan. Hence it is crucial that the state has a mechanism to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. The Disaster Management and Relief Department of Government of Rajasthan handle all the disasters in the state. The Flood Manual generated by Disaster Management and Relief Department gives a complete description of the flood response system of the state. There are 14 river basins in the state which are further sub-divided into 59 sub-basins. The 14 major sub-basins are of the rivers- Shekhawati, Ruparail, Banganga, Gambhiri, Parbati, Sabi, Banas, Chambal, Mahi, Sabarmati, Luni, West Banas, Sukli, Other Nallas of Jalore and Areas of Western Rajasthan. A network of Rain gauge stations, gauge discharge & meteorological observatories have been setup in these important river basin catchment areas to monitor any hydrometeorological event. The river-floods occur mostly due to silting of the river bed due to which the capacity of rivers of containing water reduces significantly or due to heavy rains in areas with poor drainage. In case of a silted bed the confluence zone too gets congested and the waters tend to enter back into the tributary. For effective flood management system the Disaster Management and Relief Department works on multiple points so that both relief and rescue works can be done effectively. The management relates to flood preparedness, flood forecasting and warning, flood control and management, relief and rescue management, assistance and rehabilitation of sufferers.

28 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its A Rashtriya Barh Ayog (National Flood Commission) was set up by Government of India in 1976 to review the flood protection measures and to formulate comprehensive approach to deal with flood situation in the country. The National Water Policy 2002, states that each flood prone basin in the country must have a master plan for its flood control and management. It also states that that physical flood protection works like embankments and dykes and water storage projects should be meticulously planned in the flood prone areas and even nonstructural measures such as effective flood forecasting and warning and flood proofing should be promoted to minimize losses. The floods in the flood prone regions are easier to control but events of cloud-burst are difficult to handle. Flood Preparedness is therefore a necessary component of flood management. It includes forecasting, warning, capacity building of the locals to form relief groups, preparing an operational plan, stockpiling of supplies and proper utilization of funds. Also as a part of long term planning, long range policies should be implemented in the fields of public works and urban planning. The mitigation efforts help in prevention to a large degree. The mitigation efforts include: 1. A review of daily reports on weather forecast 2. Constitution of a weather watch group to review weekly the weather condition during the monsoon season i.e. during June and September 3. All the dams are inspected before the advent of monsoons 4. Every year in the month of May the State Advisory Committee would conduct a meeting with the various departments to review the preparatory action taken by them. The state machinery shall be equipped to meet any calamity

29 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Maintenance of the flood plain and not allowing any construction on it is also very important as it helps to protect the environmental equilibrium of the region and check the post flood destruction. 6. The Relief Department acts as a Nodal department in case of floods and it is this department s responsibility to take preventive steps, Co-ordinate various government/ non-government agencies, educate the masses and deal with all the issues relating to the disaster. Also a list of important telephone numbers also circulated to all concerned departments in the month of May every year by the Relief Department. 7. Role and responsibilities of the various government departments like the Meteorological Department, Local Bodies Department, Medical Department, Police and Wireless Department, Irrigation Department, Fisheries Department, Public Health and Engineering Department, Public Works Department, Power Department, Animal Husbandry Department, Food Department, Relief Department, Information and Public Relations Department and Department of Information and Technology are well defined. 8. In the times of calamity these departments co-ordinate closely under the Relief Department and perform all the functions like keeping weather stations fully functional; identify vulnerable areas in each district and formulate a plan of action to face the hazard; timely de-silting the drainage system before rains; remove garbage, dead animals timely to prevent diseases; to keep the medical mobile van and teams of doctors ready to go to the affected areas with required medicines; to strictly enforce food and water safety measures; to arrange sufficient food and other essential commodities vulnerable areas and fodder and cattle feed; to quickly restore of water

30 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its supply in case of floods; to keep prepared the resources like boats, life jackets, expert fishermen and swimmers; identify high level areas for rehabilitation camps in case of heavy rains, flash floods; etc. 9. A State level flood memorandum is prepared by the Irrigation Department every year and supplied to all concerned departments containing all the required information. 10. A Disaster contingent plan is prepared at each district by an Executive Engineer i.e. the nodal officer which contains information about the location of dams, identification of flood prone areas, alternate routes, location and quantity of different emergency materials, list of divers etc. The Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department, Rajasthan at Jaipur acts as the nodal officer. There are several constraints in providing cent percent protection from the complex phenomena of flood. A combination of both structural and non-structural strategies must be combined so as to achieve effective protection. The flood management plans should be socially and economically viable with some scientific or technological/engineering backing. The various structural measures for flood control followed can be categorized as follows:- 1. Repair/restoration and strengthening of existing structures (bunds, regulating and control structures and waste weirs) including repair/restoration /installation of gates and communication systems. 2. Restoration of design capacity of channels and removal of encroachments. 3. Repair/restoration of village/town protection bunds, and construction of new ring bunds.

31 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Construction of river training works revetments, spurs etc. 5. Construction of diversion structures (cross-regulators and channels) 6. Construction of auxiliary spillway and weirs and increasing the surplus capacity of existing ones. 7. Construction of flood regulation anicuts. 8. Construction of cross regulators. The various non-structural measures for flood control can be categorized as follows: 1. Flood plain zoning. 2. Flood estimation and forecasting. 3. Flood proofing. 4. Flood warning. 5. Flood fighting and operation plan (Disaster Management and Relief Department, 2009). The government also understands the importance regulating the flood plain and the low-lying regions for protecting them from undesirable or unwise use. This region should be construction free, have proper sewage systems and maybe utilized for collection of storm water management. A map representing the past extent of floodwaters, its depth and frequency in the last 20 years is also studied. Some of the flood plains are acquired by the government on its development rights; this provides long-term benefits of protection of natural resources and public use of the land along with reduced floodplain losses. The other measure to mitigate flood is through flood proofing. Flood proofing is the use of permanent, contingent or emergency techniques to either prevent flood waters from entering buildings or to minimize the damages from water that does get

32 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its in. Some of the techniques involve using water tight seals, closures or barriers, using water resistant materials, and temporarily relocating the contents of a building. Elevating a structure means raising it on fill, piers, or pilings so that it is above expected flood levels (Disaster Management and Relief Department, 2009). Structural measures such as dams, dikes, reservoirs, floodwalls, storm water management etc can be used for Modifying flooding so that deliberate changes in the volume of run-off, extent of area flooded, velocity and depth of flood waters and even the location of flooding can be achieved. These structural processes come under floodplain management strategy. A regular maintenance of these flood control structures is therefore one of the most important considerations. Dams and Reservoirs should be constructed with such a plan that during the event of flood they can help to limit the speed of the water and also limit the flooded area. Hence they must be kept properly and reservoir sedimentation should be cleared regularly. Dikes, Levees and Flood walls should be of masonry or steel and efficiently designed and regularly maintained. The areas around them should have regulated development as well. Channel Alterations by deepening or widening or straightening the channel, removing debris, raising or enlarging bridges and culverts can be done to increase the flow-carrying capacity of a stream which as a result reduces the height of a flood. Stormwater Management is the removal of water that falls directly onto properties, as opposed to flood water, that flows onto the property, from upstream

33 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its sources or an ocean surge (Disaster Management and Relief Department, 2009). To manage Storm-water natural drainage systems may be used along with the concrete lined channels so that the surface run-off is channelized into them so that the urban structures are protected against the localized flooding. Their regular expansion and upkeep is required as with the expansion of an urban area the old structures might become less useful. The state authorities lay a lot of stress on effective Watershed Management Sound watershed management through extensive soil conservation, catchment area treatment, preservation of forests and increasing the forest area and construction of check dams shall be promoted to reduce the intensity of floods ( Watershed management is much popular in the agricultural areas. Here, the measures include maintaining trees and vegetative covers, terrace farming, slope stabilization, structures to direct flood or excess water. These measures improve rain water infiltration in the soil eventually minimizing run-off. The emphasis is also laid to tackle water logging and salinity problems. Such Watershed programs involve a very large scale planning. When the flood occurs the relief and rescue management begins, which involves the active participation and immediate action by the identified responsible government authorities along with NGO s volunteers, home guards, charitable institutions to tackle the situation efficiently. Relief camps are established and all the required facilities and aid is provided. In these after flood management the role of Administrative Arrangements; Duties of different Officers and Establishments and the role of Armed Forces assume the greatest importance. Their effectiveness of the relief management depends on their level of co-ordination.

34 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Losses of life and property are calculated and detailed report to the Government is submitted. This report contains a complete description about the nature and cause of the flood, loss of human and livestock, estimated damage to public and private properties, agricultural land and crops, public utilities, etc. This helps in rendering the destitute gratuitous relief immediately and in selecting the prompt measures that must be taken for their rescue, evacuation, relief and rehabilitation operations. The sufferers of the flood are provided with immediate aid by the Government in form of medical aid, temporary shelter, clothing, cooked food for maximum period of 15 days, and necessary household articles like utensil. Gratuitous relief may be in the form of cash as well. The expenditure on grant in aid is provided under "2245- Relief on account of Natural Calamities", in the budget. Assistance is also provided to the agriculturists who suffer damage to their crops, agricultural lands and houses as determined by the revenue Authorities on the basis of eye estimate. Agriculturist whose sown area is completely inundated, whose standing crop is completely washed away by floods or severely damaged or has rendered the lands unfit for immediate cultivation are provided assistance in form of seeds and restoring and de-silting the land etc. Repair and restoration of the rural houses is also assisted by the relief authorities. Losses incurred on livestock are also taken care by the government by reconstructing cattle sheds, providing cattle feed etc. From the above description it can be seen that the flood management machinery of the state is well planned. Each department or authority is fully informed of the function it has to perform and the hierarchy that must be followed. It should also be noted that if the flood forecasting and the flood mitigation is timely and efficient in the state then the loss of life and property can be lessened.

35 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its DROUGHTS IN RAJASTHAN Rajasthan, the largest state has 10.41% total area containing 5% of total population of the country but just 1% water resources. The western part of the Aravallis falls in the arid region comprising of the Thar Desert region. The state has low and erratic rainfall making the region vulnerable to drought. Based on historical data the frequency of occurrence of droughts in the state is depicted in Map 22. Drought may be generally defined as a temporary reduction in water or moisture availability significantly below the normal or expected amount for a specified period (Disaster Management and Relief Department, 2009). Drought occurs in all the districts of the state with varying intensities of moderate and severe. The drought impacts the availability of food, fodder and water by creating their shortage or discrepancies between supply and demand. Drought can have direct and significant impact on the overall economy by affecting food and fodder production. Drought is characterized by slow onset and its effects may accumulate over time and may remain for many years. Because of this assessing the impact and planning assistance becomes difficult for a drought situation. The degree of crop loss in droughts is influenced by the moisture retention of soil and timing of the rains. There are a few factors which contribute to vulnerability during droughts, like more dependency on rain-fed agriculture; inability of farmers to adapt to drought due to repeated crop failures; insufficient pastures for livestock-dependent populations; acute drought may lead to famine and deaths; and in the areas with inadequate assistance from government or other agencies vulnerability to death may increase.

36 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its MAP - 22

37 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Droughts may be classified in the following type: 1. The Meteorological drought results from a shortfall in precipitation. It is measured by a relative comparison between the degrees of dryness and normal or average amount of rainfall that should have been received. This comparative study must be region specific and may be measured against annual, monthly, seasonal or daily time scales of rainfall. 2. The Hydrological drought involves a reduction of water resources in groundwater, streams, lakes and reservoirs. For its calculation data on availability of water in these reservoirs and their use pattern (domestic, industrial, irrigated agricultural, etc.) is studied. 3. The Agricultural drought studies the impact of meteorological and hydrological droughts on crop and livestock production of a region. It occurs when a plant's demand for water through soil moisture is insufficient to maintain its average plant growth. The impact of agricultural drought is difficult to measure as water requirement and supply depend on the type of plant, its stage of growth and the properties of the soil. Also the quality of seeds pests, weeds, low soil fertility and poor agricultural practices too affect the growth factors of a plant. 4. The Famine drought is said to have occurred when the food, fodder and water shortages are very severe due to the effect of metrological and hydrological droughts, when large numbers of people become unhealthy or die. It can be regarded as an extreme form of agricultural drought as well which might be even due to wars and conflicts.

38 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its The Socio-economic drought is a concept that recognizes the relationship between drought and human activities. It is said to have occurred when the poor socio-economic activities aggravate the impacts and vulnerability to future droughts. It is usually seen in the regions where the supply of important goods and services like water, fodder or electric power are weather dependent and occurrence of a drought may cause significant shortages. The drought prone areas of Rajasthan: The meteorological drought over an area or place may be defined as a situation when annual rainfall over the area or place is less than 75% of the normal. It is further classified as moderate drought if rainfall deficit is between 25 to 50% and severe drought when it is more than 50%. Areas where frequency of drought as defined above is 20% of the years examined are classified as drought areas and areas having drought condition for more than 40% of the years under consideration represent chronically drought affected areas (Indian Meteorological Department, 2010). Based on this the district wise rainfall analysis was done. The annual average rainfall was compared to the average rainfall of the studied period of 30 years i.e. from 1980 to And based on the percentage of departure Moderate and Severe Drought years were categorized. Further classification was done by calculating the frequency of meteorological droughts and the districts were categorized as Drought Areas and Chronically Drought Affected Areas. This classification has been tabulated in Table 11. The Drought Areas include Alwar, Banswara, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Churu, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Kota, Nagaur and Udaipur districts. The Chronically Drought Affected Areas include Ganganagar, Pali and Sirohi districts.

39 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Table - 11: Identification of Drought Districts of Rajasthan S. No. Average Annual Rainfall Number of Drought Years ( ) Percentage of Total Years Drought Type Category Drought Area 1 Ajmer Alwar Alwar 3 Banswara Banswara 4 Baran Barmer Barmer 6 Bharatpur Bhilwara Bhilwara 8 Bikaner Bikaner 9 Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Churu 12 Dausa Dausa Chronically Drought Affected Area 13 Dholpur Dungarpur Ganganagar Ganganagar 16 Hanumangarh Hanumangarh 17 Jaipur Jaisalmer Jaisalmer 19 Jalore Jalore 20 Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jhunjhunu 22 Jodhpur Karauli Kota Kota 25 Nagaur Nagaur 26 Pali Pali 27 Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sikar 31 Sirohi Sirohi 32 Tonk Udaipur Udaipur Source:

40 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its HISTORY OF DROUGHT Rajasthan has had many drought years in the past and the region lying towards the west of the Aravalli Range is an arid region. The degree of effectiveness of drought depends on the amount of shortage of rainfall. The following chapter mentions the drought years that have been observed in the 30 years ranging from 1980 and For the same the average annual rainfall received at that district was compared to the average rainfall of the observed 30 years. The percentage of departure of average annual rainfall was compared from the average rainfall received during 1980 and If during a year the average annual rainfall is between 25 percent and 50 percent below the average of the district for a specific year, then that is categorized as Moderate Drought Year and if the average annual rainfall is below 50 percent then the year is categorized as Severe Drought Year. The detailed calculation has been tabulated in Table 12 and Graph 21 depicts the frequency of Moderate and Severe Drought Years in Rajasthan. Table 12 Categorization of Droughts in Rajasthan Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall AJMER Category of Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought

41 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall ALWAR Category of Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought BANSWARA Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought BARAN Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought BARMER Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought

42 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall BHARATPUR Category of Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought BHILWARA Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought BIKANER Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought BUNDI Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought

43 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall CHITTORGARH Category of Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought CHURU Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought DAUSA Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought DHOLPUR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought

44 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall DUNGARPUR Category of Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought GANGANAGAR Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought HANUMANGARH Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought

45 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall JAIPUR Category of Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought JAISALMER Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought JALORE Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought

46 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall Category of Drought JHALAWAR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought JHUNJHUNU Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought JODHPUR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought KARAULI Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought

47 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall KOTA Category of Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought NAGAUR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought PALI Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought

48 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall PRATAPGARH Category of Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought RAJSAMAND Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought SAWAI MADHOPUR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought SIKAR Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought

49 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Year Average Annual Rainfall Departure from Average of District Percentage of Departure from the Normal Rainfall SIROHI Category of Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought TONK Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought UDAIPUR Severe Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Severe Drought Moderate Drought Moderate Drought Severe Drought Source:

50 Ajmer Alwar Banswara Baran Barmer Bharatpur Bhilwara Bikaner Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Dausa Dholpur Dungarpur Sri Ganganagar Hanumangarh Jaipur Jaisalmer Jalore Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jodhpur Karauli Kota Nagaur Pali Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sirohi Tonk Udaipur Number of Years Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Graph 21 District wise Frequency of Severe and Moderate Drought Years in Rajasthan ( ) Severe Drought Years Moderate Drought Years Districts The history of Drought is discussed below: 1. Ajmer The Ajmer district has 5 occurrences of drought years during the observed time span. Year 1986 and 2009 are the 2 moderate drought years with average annual rainfall 37.3 and 38.3 percent below the average respectively. Years 1987, 1999 and 2002 are the severe drought years with average annual rainfall 65.4, 66.7 and 55.8 percent below the average respectively. Here, 1986 and 1987 were consecutive drought years. 2. Alwar Years 1987, 1999 and 2002 were severe drought years with average annual rainfall 58.9, 64.4 and 63.1 percent respectively. Whereas years 1986, 1989, 1991 and 2006 are the moderate drought years with average annual rainfall 49.2, 41.4, 31.4 and 30.3 percent below the average respectively. In this district 1986 and 1987 are the consecutive drought years.

51 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Banswara There are 7 moderate drought years in the district with no severe drought year. The years 1999 and 2000 saw consecutive droughts. Year 1985, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2008 had average annual rainfall 39.0, 33.1, 30.2, 27.5, 38.3, 33.9 and 30.6 percent below the average respectively. 4. Baran The district saw 2 moderate and 1 severe drought year during the observed years. Year 2002 received 73.3 percent average annual rainfall below the average and hence categorised as severe drought year. Years 1986 and 1989 had average annual rainfall 33.9 and 48.7 percent below the average and are moderate drought years. 5. Barmer There have been 11 instances of drought years in the Barmer district, with 4 severe drought years. Years 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2005 are classified as moderate average annual rainfall years as the average annual rainfall received was 28.1, 40.0, 30.1, 36.2, 32.6, 28.6 and 31.4 below the average respectively. The severe drought years were 1986, 1987, 1991 and 2002 with average annual rainfall 71.7, 82.9, 68.8 and 75.8 percent below the average respectively. It can be seen that , and are consecutive and 1987, 1989 and 1991 are alternate drought years of the district. 6. Bharatpur There are no occurrences of severe drought in the district but moderate drought years are 6 in number. They are year 1981, 1986, 1987, 2000, 2002 and 2006 when the average annual rainfall was 27.0, 44.3, 47.1, 41.0, 37.7 and 37.9

52 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its below the average. Here are consecutive and 200 and 2002 are alternate drought years of the district. 7. Bhilwara The years 1981, 1987, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2009 are moderate drought years with average annual rainfall 25.7, 36.9, 25.3, 30.0, 31.08, 46.9 and 31.4 percent below the average. Here 1998 and 1999 are consecutive drought years. The Bhilwara district had no severe drought years during the observed time span. 8. Bikaner The Bikaner district had 2 occurrences of severe drought years i.e. during 1991 and 2002 when the average annual rainfall was 58.3 and 74.0 percent below the average. The moderate drought years are 1985, 1986, 1993, 1999 and 2004 when the average annual rainfall was 43.2, 28.1, and 32.7 respectively below the average. It can be observed that are consecutive and 1991, 1993 and 2002, 2004 are alternate drought years. 9. Bundi There are 3 occurrences of moderate drought in the district during 1987, 1989 and 2002 when the average annual rainfall was 34.6, 30.1 and 45.0 percent below the average respectively. Here, 1987 and 1989 are alternate drought years. There is no severe drought year in the district during the observed time span. 10. Chittorgarh The district has 5 moderate drought years i.e. 1987, 1988, 1998, 2000, and 2002 when the average annual rainfall was 43.7, 25.2, 29.4, 29.0 and 35.6 percent below the average. Here 4987 and 1988 are consecutive and 2000 and 2002 are alternate drought years.

53 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Churu Churu district has 7 drought years where 1984 and 1986; 1987 and 1989; and 2000 and 2002 are alternate and and are consecutive drought years. The moderate drought years are 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1999 and 2000 with average annual rainfall 25.7, 29.1, 45.0, 30.1, 37.1 and 30.1 percent below the average respectively. The year 2002 is the only severe drought year with average annual rainfall 52.8 percent below the average. 12. Dausa The district had just 1 occurrence of severe drought year in the district during 2002 when the average annual rainfall was percent below the average. The moderate drought years are 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2006 and 2009 with average annual rainfall 27.6, 28.6, 37.3, 46.0, 40.3, 32.7, 41.6 and 36.8 percent below the average respectively. In Dausa district year 1982 and 1984; 2000 and 2002 are alternate drought years and 1986 to 1988 are consecutive drought years. 13. Dholpur The Dholpur district had 4 occurrences of moderate drought years with 1987 and 1989 being the alternate drought years. Hence, during the years 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2006 the average annual rainfall was 42.5, 30.9, 35.8 and 27.2 percent below the average. 14. Dungarpur During the observed time span the district had 6 occurrences of moderate droughts and no severe drought was seen during the observed years. Here, 1999 and 2000 are consecutive drought years and 2000 and 2002 alternate drought years. The years 1985, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2008 had average annual rainfall 42.2, 27.2, 26.6, 41.1, 41.9 and 29.9 percent below the average respectively.

54 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Ganganagar The district had 15 years of drought during the observed 30 years. Years 1986 to 1995 are consecutive 10 years of meteorological drought followed by drought during 1997 to 1999 and 2001 and The severe drought years were 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001 with average annual rainfall 60.9, 63.2, 59.8, 56.0, 57.8, 78.4, 73.3, 61.3, 77.1, 83.3 and 64.8 percent below the average respectively. There are also 4 years of moderate drought during 1988, 1992, 1993 and 2002 when the average annual rainfall was 45.9, 32.4, 46.1 and 46.0 percent below the average. 16. Hanumangarh The district had 2 occurrences of severe drought years during 1989 and 2002 when the average annual rainfall was 53.7 and 55.1 percent below the average. The years 1986, 1987, 1990, 200 and 2004 had average annual rainfall 31.2, 46.7, 43.7, 37.8 and 30.7 percent below the average respectively. Here, 1986 and 1987; 1989 and 1990 are consecutive drought years and 1987 and 1989; are alternate drought years. 17. Jaipur The year 1987 was the only severe drought year in the district during the observed time span, when the average annual rainfall exceeded the average by percent. The years 1986 and 1987 are the consecutive drought years and 1987 and 1989; 1999 and 2001 are the alternate drought years of the district, Here, during 1986, 1989, 1991, 1999 and 2000 were observed as moderate drought years as the average annual rainfall was 44.02, 27.1, 33.5, 32.4 and percent below average respectively.

55 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Jaisalmer The Jaisalmer district had 7 drought years during 1980 and 2009 where 1984 and 1985 were consecutive drought years and 1985 and 1987; 2002 and 2004 are alternate drought years in the district. The years 1984, 1991 and 2009 have been classified as the moderate drought years where average annual rainfall was 30.7, 48.3 and 40.4 percent below the average. The years 1985, 1987, 2002 and 2004 are the severe drought years as the average annual rainfall was 52.8, 75.9, 74.2 and 53.5 percent below the average. 19. Jalore The district has 3 severe and 8 moderate drought years during the observed time span. Here the years and 1987; 1998 and 1999 are consecutive and 1987 and 1989 and 1991 are the alternate drought years. The severe drought years are 1986, 1987 and 1991 with average annual rainfall 58.7, 82.7 and 69.4 respectively below the average. The moderate drought years are 1980, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2009 with average annual rainfall 41.3, 27.3, 29.8, 39.6, 36.9, 34.2, 49.0 and 45.5 percent below the average respectively. 20. Jhalawar Here years 1980, 1989, 1998, 2002 and 2005 are the moderate drought years with average annual rainfall 29.2, 36.6, 27.5, 32.3 and 25.1 percent below the average respectively. The district had no severe drought year in the observed time span. 21. Jhunjhunun The years 1987 and 2002 are the severe drought years of the district when the average annual rainfall was 51.3 and 64.7 percent below the average respectively. The

56 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its moderate drought years were 1981, 1986, 1989, 1999 and 2009 with average annual rainfall 27.7, 40.0, 42.5, 37.1 and 30.6 percent respectively below the average. The district had 1986 and 1987 as consecutive and 1987 and 1989 as alternate drought years. 22. Jodhpur The year 2002 is the only severe drought year in the district when the average annual rainfall was 63.5 percent below the average. The years 1986, 1991, 1993, 1998 and 2009 are considered as moderate drought years as the average annual rainfall received is 38.2, 35.1, 32.1, 30.6 and 44.8 percent below the average respectively. Here, 1991 and 1993 are alternate drought years. 23. Karauli The district had the occurrence of drought majorly between 1986 and The years 1986, 1987 and 2001 are classified as moderate drought years as the average annual rainfall was 46.5, 35.2 and 44.6 percent below the average respectively. Year 1989 is categorised as severe drought year with average annual rainfall 56.9 percent below the average. 24. Kota The Kota district has alternate drought years during 1987 and 1989 and consecutive drought years during 1997 and 1998 and The moderate drought years are 1987, 1993, 1999, 2002 and 2005 with average annual rainfall 47.4, 28.2, 34.7, 25.5 and 26.7 percent below the average respectively. The severe drought years are 1989, 1997 and 1998 with average annual rainfall below the average by 52.6, 55.8 and 76.3 percent respectively.

57 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Nagaur The severe drought years of the district are 1987 and 2002 with average annual rainfall 58.8 and 55.1 percent below the average respectively. The years 1984, 1986, 1989, 1999 and 2009 are moderate drought years with 35.4, 36.2, 33.6, 37.1 and 45.2 percent average annual rainfall less than the average respectively. Here, 1984 and 1986; 1987 and 1989 are alternate and 1986 and 1987 are consecutive drought years. 26. Pali The district had 14 years of drought out of the observed 30 years. Here there has been consecutive drought for 6 years during 1986 and 1991 and for 7 years during 1993 and There have been 10 years of severe droughts i.e. 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 with average annual rainfall being lower than the average by 79.1, 91.2, 73.2, 74.0, 59.6, 53.4, 68.1, 65.0, 77.5 and 62.8 respectively. The moderate drought years were 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2002 with average annual rainfall 30.7, 43.7, 40.1 and 45.4 percent below the average respectively. 27. Pratapgarh There are 4 years classified as moderate drought years on the district with no severe drought year. The moderate drought years were 1992, 1998, 2000 and 2002 with 32.4, 48.0, 36.9 and 30.5 percent average annual rainfall below the average. 28. Rajsamand The district had following 6 years of moderate drought in the district 1984, 1985, 1987, 1993, 2000 and 2002 with average annual rainfall below the average by

58 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its , 37.8, 48.9, 25.2, 42.7 and 41.8 percent respectively. There are no years classified as severe drought years. Here 1984 and 1985 are consecutive and 1985 and 1987 as alternate drought years in the district. 29. Sawai Madhopur The district had 5 moderate drought years during the observed time span i.e. during 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2000 with average annual rainfall 44.9, 34.6, 42.2, 25.1 and 27.8 percent below the average respectively. The year 2002 is the only severe drought year with 62.7 percent average annual rainfall below the average. The years 1987 and 1989 are alternate drought years. 30. Sikar At Sikar district too, 2002 is the only severe drought year with average annual rainfall 57.2 percent below the average. The year 1987 and 1989; 2000 and 2002 are alternate and 1999 and 200 are consecutive drought years of the district. The 7 moderate drought years are 1984, 1987, 1989, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2009 with average annual rainfall below the average by 27.9, 49.3, 31.4, 27.7, 44.2 and 43.8 respectively. 31. Sirohi There have been 12 drought years in the district during the observed 30 years. The years 1986 and 1987; and 1995 to 1999 are the consecutive drought years and 1987 and 1989 and 1991 and 1993 and 1995 are the alternate drought years. There were 8 severe drought years i.e. 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 with average annual rainfall 66.8, 87.0, 58.7, 67.4, 64.2, 60.9, 65.4 and 69.7 percent below the average respectively. And the 4 moderate drought years were

59 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its , 1997, 2002 and 2009 with average annual rainfall less than the average by 44.3, 27.5, 45.7 and 28.3 percent respectively. 32. Tonk The moderate drought years of the district are 1986, 1987, 1993, 1997 and 2009 with average annual rainfall 40.3, 44.4, 27.4, 49.1 and 33.2 percent below the average respectively. Year 2002 was the only severe drought year with average annual rainfall percent less than the average. The years 1986 and 1987 are the consecutive drought years of the district. 33. Udaipur The district had 9 drought years with 1986 and 1987; 1993 to 1997; and 1999 and 2000 as the consecutive drought years. The 6 severe drought years are 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2000 with average annual rainfall percentage 57.8, 58.8, 53.4, 69.0, 58.0 and 55.9 percent below the average respectively. The moderate drought years were 1994, 1997 and 1999 with average annual rainfall below the average by 37.5, 46.7 and 31.4 percent respectively. The study shows that the frequency of droughts has at many districts increased during the last decade. All the districts have experienced low average annual rainfall leading to moderate and severe drought years. But the districts like Banswara, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Dholpur, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Pratapgarh and Rajsamand had no severe drought year, whereas Pali and Ganganagar Districts had the highest frequency of drought years in Rajasthan during 1980 and The decadal occurences of drought in Rajasthan are depicted in Graph - 22.

60 Ajmer Alwar Banswara Baran Barmer Bharatpur Bhilwara Bikaner Bundi Chittorgarh Churu Dausa Dholpur Dungarpur Ganganagar Hanumangarh Jaipur Jaisalmer Jalore Jhalawar Jhunjhunu Jodhpur Karauli Kota Nagaur Pali Pratapgarh Rajsamand Sawai Madhopur Sikar Sirohi Tonk Udaipur No. of Occurances Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Graph 22 District-wise Decadal Frequency of Droughts in Rajasthan ( ) Districts

61 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its IMPACT OF DROUGHT Rajasthan state is has a dry and arid type of climate especially on the western part. There has been a long history of droughts in the state. There have been various severe and moderate drought years in the state during the observed years. Out of the 33 districts of the state 15 districts namely Alwar, Banswara, Barmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Churu, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Kota, Nagaur, Sikar and Udaipur are drought affected. 3 districts namely Ganganagar, Pali and Sirohi fall in chronically drought affected category. The impacts of drought are seen is social, economic and environmental fronts. The most significant effect is seen on the quality and quantity of water of the region. Extreme stress and paucity of basic necessities causes a situation of famine. The 4 types of famines are Annakal (food grain famine), Jalakal (scarcity of water), Trinakal (fodder famine) and Trikal (scarcity of food grains, water and fodder). Though in the present times the conditions of famine are absent in the state. Impacts are seen in crop production losses, harm to habitats of various animal and fish species, harm to plant species, degradation of the fertile layer of the soil, income loss for farmers, losses to agro-products industries, mass unemployment, losses of revenue to government. There are also food shortages, loss of human life, decline in the living conditions, increased poverty and a sharp increase in the migration of the population to the areas with better facilities. In the survey conducted in the drought prone Barmer rural area covering the Aagore, Mahaderi Naadi, Uttarlai naadi, Naganeshia and Beriyon ka Baas the following impacts of droughts were observed from the accounts of the people (see Figure 5).

62 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Figure - 5 Surveyor interviewing farmers at Naganeshia dhaani, Doonda village, Barmer Water Resources: The main source of water in the villages or Dhaanis in western Rajasthan is Naadi or community pond. See Figure 6. The rain water gets collected there and is used throughout the year. Figure 6 Surveyor at Mahaderi Naadi, Uttarlai village, Barmer taking information These Naadis are a source of water for both humans and animals of the region. The ground water of the area is saline hence is not normally used. There are

63 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its also presence of small wells or Kui. These are covered wells. The government assists in building of these covered wells i.e. tankas (see Figure 7). Figure 7 Surveyor taking a look at the government assisted Tanka Cultivation: The area is arid and the entire agriculture in the region is rain fed. Hence, agriculture is of mainly of coarse grains. Bajra, Moong, Mooth, Gram and oil seeds are popularly grown. The general vegetation of the region of thorny shrubs in patches in some region (see Figure 8) and there are regions completely devoid of any vegetation. During the drought period there is absolutely no agriculture. Figure 8 Natural Vegetation of the surveyed region

64 Occurrences of Extreme Weather Events and its Livestock: Cow, goat, buffalo, sheep and camel are normally domesticated. They are reared mainly for milk and wool or hides. Water is supplied by the government to small tanks especially built for cattle (see Figure 9). There are pastures to feed the cattle. During droughts there is an increased mortality of cattle due to less feed and water. Also the locals informed that the feed supplied from the relief operation is non- conventional. The cattle owners told that they leave their cattle free so that they could look for fodder themselves. The respondents also told that few cattle died due to choking of intestines as they ate polythene bags. Figure 9 One of the tanks especially built for cattle in the surveyed region Cattle Feed and Fodder Resources: The respondents told that the insufficiency of feed and fodder both in quality and quantity is a major problem. This problem becomes even more during the drought years. Socio Economic Issues: During the drought period water scarcity is the biggest constraint. The primary occupation of agriculture becomes impossible to be practiced. Livestock rearing is the second major occupation of the region. But due to drought a large scale migration of sheep and goats was seen from the region. There