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On the frequency of the 2015 monsoon season drought in the Indo‐Gangetic Plain
Author(s) -
Mishra Vimal,
Aadhar Saran,
Asoka Akarsh,
Pai Sivananda,
Kumar Rohini
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl071407
Subject(s) - monsoon , agriculture , groundwater , climatology , hydrology (agriculture) , geography , coastal plain , environmental science , physical geography , geology , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , archaeology
The 2015 drought in the Indo‐Gangetic Plain posed new challenges related to food and water security and affected the lives of millions. All‐India monsoon rainfall in 2015 was the tenth driest year on record (1906–2015) with a deficit of 14.5%, and the Indo‐Gangetic Plain witnessed a rainfall deficit of 25.8% (third rank event). Drought severity was amplified by deficits from the previous years in the Indo‐Gangetic Plain and other parts of India. The Indo‐Gangetic Plain faced a 2 year cumulative deficit of 51%, and the drought of 2014–2015 was unprecedented with a return period of 542 years. The GRACE data showed the occurrence of consecutive negative terrestrial water storage and groundwater anomalies in 2014 and 2015, mainly centered over the Indo‐Gangetic Plain region. Notwithstanding uncertainty in future projections, the multiyear droughts in the same regions can pose challenges for water resources and agriculture.