India Is Suffering One of Its Worst Droughts in Decades

Lingering drought in India is prompting a wave of migrations from rural areas to cities like Mumbai. “The upcoming monsoon is expected to bring some relief, but a longer term challenge looms from competition for scarce groundwater and surface supplies among farmers, industries and cities,” writes Archana Chaudhary for Bloomberg. She adds that major dams in India are near 80 percent empty. “Deficient rains can be devastating as about half of India’s 1.3 billion population is employed in agriculture, which accounts for roughly 18 percent of the nation’s $2 trillion gross domestic product.” The article describes dry reservoirs and farmland, lengthy commutes for water, excessive groundwater extraction and corruption. A lack of water will impose severe limits on economic growth, and Chaudhary concludes that countries must manage water supplies with efficiency to account for seasonal variations in rainfall. – YaleGlobal