Recurring drought is a major challenge in the Drought Prone Area of Maharashtra State in India. Agriculture (e.g., rainfed cropping and livestock) is the major income activity of over 64% of the state׳s population. The objective of this study is to understand the rural farming community׳s perception of drought impacts on their socio-economic activities and environment, their adaptation at the household level and opinions on government drought mitigation measures. This study is based on both secondary and primary data collected via a survey of 223 farming households. The results show that decrease in yield of cereals, horticultural crops, livestock production and loss of employment, all associated with decreased income of farmers, were the most immediate economic impacts of drought. Social impacts such as population migration, impacts on health and schooling of children, hopelessness and sense of loss, conflicts in society for water, and malnutrition due to changed food preferences were also reported. The environmental impacts such as increases in average atmospheric temperature, pasture-forest degradation, deteriorated water quality, damage to fish habitat-wild life, and groundwater depletion were perceived by farmers to high extent. In spite of good perception of severity of drought impacts by farmers and their familiarity with various adaptation options, the preference given for their adoption in agriculture was not good enough. Also to mitigate drought, the government provided various mitigation measures, but the level of satisfaction amongst farmers was low. It is expected that this study will help policy makers to develop more appropriate drought adaptation policies in India

The present study comprehensively analyzes error characteristics and performance of the two latest GPM-era satellite precipitation products over eastern China from April 2014 to March 2016. Analysis results indicate that the two products have totally different spatial distributions of total bias. Many of the underestimations for the GSMap-gauged could be traced to significant hit bias, with a secondary contribution from missed precipitation. For IMERG, total bias illustrates significant overestimation over most of the eastern part of China, except upper reaches of Yangtze and Yellow River basins. GSMap-gauged tends to overestimate light precipitation (<16 mm/day) and underestimate precipitation with rain rate larger than 16 mm/day; however, IMERG underestimates precipitation at rain rate between 8 and 64 mm/day and overestimates precipitation at rain rate more than 64 mm/day. IMERG overestimates extreme precipitation indices (RR99P and R20TOT), with relative bias values of 17.9% and 11.5%, respectively. But GSMap-gauged shows significant underestimation of these indices. In addition, both products performed well in the Huaihe, Liaohe, and Yangtze River basins for extreme precipitation detection. At basin scale comparisons, the GSMap-gauged data has a relatively higher accuracy than IMERG, especially at the Haihe, Huaihe, Liaohe, and Yellow River basins.

This study identifies the severity of impacts of drought in 2012 on domestic water supply, crop production, unskilled rural employment, and financial status of rural households in a drought-prone area of India. It is based on secondary and primary data collected by interviewing 223 households. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential applications in SPSS. As a consequence of drought, access to domestic water supply was cumbersome and time spent on water collection activities almost doubled compared with the time required in years with normal rainfall. On average, a respondent household suffered a loss of about 86% in production of major crops. High reductions in on-farm unskilled employment opportunities and an increase in unskilled labor in off-farm rural employment activities were reported. It was found that about 69% of respondents were availing loans and 79% of them delayed repayment of loans due to the consequences of drought. Our results indicated that the extent of drought damage varied according to household size, annual income, landholding size, farming system in use, and drought intensity. The effects of these factors on farming communities are reported with empirical evidence. Respondents with large family size, low to marginal land holding size, low income, and rainfed farming systems are found to be more vulnerable to drought impacts; special attention should be given towards increasing their resilience when designing drought management strategies

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets access to water and sanitation for all people in the next 15 years. However, for developing countries such as Nepal, it is more challenging to achieve this goal given its poor infrastructure and high population growth. To assess the water crisis in the most developed and populated area of Nepal, the Kathmandu Valley, we estimated available water resources and domestic water demand in the valley. We estimated a supply deficit of 102 million liters per day (MLD) in 2016, after completion of the first phase of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP). If the MWSP is completed within the specified timeframe, and sufficient treatment and distribution infrastructure is developed, then there would be no water deficit by 2023–2025. This indicates that the MWSP will make a significant contribution to the valley’s water security. However, emphasis must be given to utilizing all of the water available from the MWSP by developing sufficient water treatment and distribution infrastructure. Alternate mitigation options, such as planning land use for potential recharge, introducing micro- to macro-level rainwater harvesting structures, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources, and water demand-side management, would also be helpful.

Nearly one-sixth of India is defined as a Drought Prone Area, and as such recurring drought is one of the major challenges in the region. This article focuses on various drought impacts in an important state of India (i.e. Maharashtra State), which contributes about 15% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Drought impacts vary from region to region, but the overall issues are similar and Maharashtra State is indicative of the rest of the Drought Prone Area of the country. This article briefly reviews the major impacts of the 2012 drought on Maharashtra State’s water resources, agriculture, food security, adopted adaptation and mitigation measures and also outlines scope for future research.