India's expansive
landscapes conceal a valuable resource: groundwater. It has been the country's
lifeblood for many years, providing millions of people with water, irrigating
enormous fields of crops, and powering several companies. However, beneath this
lifeline, there lurks a ticking time bomb: the frightening pace of groundwater depletion
in India.
According to a recent
study from the University of Michigan, farmers in India have increased the
amount of groundwater they withdraw for irrigation in response to rising
temperatures. If the pattern holds, groundwater loss might triple by 2080,
significantly jeopardizing India's food and water security.
More than one-third of
India's 1.4 billion people may be at risk of losing their way of life due to
reduced water availability in the country due to groundwater depletion and
climate change. India, which recently surpassed China as the world's most
populated country, is also the world's second-largest producer of staple crops
like rice and wheat. Indian agriculture depends on groundwater to a 60% extent.
According to senior
author Meha Jain, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's School
for Environment and Sustainability, "We find that farmers are already
increasing irrigation use in response to warming temperatures, an adaptation
strategy that has not been taken into account in previous projections of
groundwater depletion in India. Given that India is the greatest consumer of
groundwater in the world and a vital source for the local and global food
supply, this is concerning.
Previous research has
concentrated on the unique impacts of groundwater depletion and climate change
on crop output in India. The decision-making of farmers, particularly how they
might modify irrigation decisions to adapt to a changing environment, was not
taken into account in those research. The new study takes into account the
possibility that stressed crops may require more water due to rising
temperatures, which could result in farmers using more irrigation.
According to earlier
research, by the middle of the century, climate change could result in a 20%
yield reduction for staple Indian crops. Groundwater levels in the nation are
alarmingly declining at the same time, mostly as a result of agricultural water
use.
The researchers created a
dataset for the recently released study that includes temperature and
precipitation records, high-resolution satellite images that quantified
agricultural water stress, and groundwater depths from thousands of wells
across India.
The majority of climate
models predict that India will see rising temperatures, higher monsoon (June
through September) precipitation, and decreased winter precipitation over the
next few decades. The research team led by the University of Michigan
discovered that rising temperatures and decreasing winter precipitation more
than compensated additional groundwater recharge from enhanced monsoon
precipitation, leading to faster groundwater losses.
Their predictions of
groundwater level decreases between 2041 and 2080 were, on average, more than
three times the present depletion rates across various climate change
scenarios.
In conclusion, in the coming
decades, it will be more challenging for Indian Agriculture and Economy. To
counter the depletion of the only important solution in enhancing rainwater harvesting
in every possible way. The best example is in Maharashtra several villages are
working on rainwater harvesting with and without government support as a result
these villages have sufficient water availability for drinking and agriculture purposes.
I am also from the drought-affected region of Maharashtra I know the condition of
water availability in India. It's every citizen duty to try to conserve rain
water and improve the ground water level for our future generation.
Source: University of Michigan