Karnataka faced drought conditions in 16 or 23 years since 2001; state facing ‘Green Drought’: Govt tells central team

Between 2001 and 2023, Karnataka did not face drought in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Data presented before the Inter Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) showed that the rainfall received in August this year was the lowest between 1901 and 2023 while the June rainfall was the third lowest for the period.

The Karnataka government also pushed the case of ‘Green Drought’ to seek reforms in the Manual for Drought Management, 2022.

“Hydro-Meteorological Hazards are recurring very frequently and with increased intensity, due to variation in the strength of the SW Monsoon and distribution of rainfall,” the government said.

This year, while south west monsoon entered the state on June 10, it covered the entire state on June 24 — 14 days later than its normal date. Also, predominant el-nino conditions during the current year and highly erratic monsoon behaviour led to drought conditions over the state, the presentation made to the IMCT said.

It also highlighted the prolonged dry spells witnessed during the monsoon season, resulting in extensive crop loss across the state. “Climate Change has propelled erratic rainfall, concentration of large spells of rainfall in short spans of time and intermittent dry-spells. Karnataka is witnessing ‘Green drought’ where the health and growth of vegetation is affected due to soil moisture stress, while not necessarily leading to immediate or obvious visual signs of stress, such as wilting or browning of plants.”

In such conditions, vegetation may appear green but there is stunted growth and soil moisture stress for more than a month, impacting yields drastically. “This phenomenon is particularly problematic because it can be challenging to detect and monitor,” it said.

Karnataka has pegged the losses caused due to drought in the state at Rs 30,432 crore due to yield losses ranging from 40 to 90 per cent. The state has sought an assistance of Rs 4,860 crore under the National Disaster Relief Fund norms from the Centre.