Climate Change, Crop Patterns Strain Telangana’s Water Reserves

Quick Summary

• Research Findings: Scientists from CSIR-NGRI have emphasized the urgent need for policies addressing groundwater extraction and storage in Telangana to secure livelihoods, especially for agricultural workers who rely on groundwater.
• Groundwater Usage in Paddy Cultivation: Telangana grows two paddy crops annually,consuming around 15 billion cubic metres of groundwater. Only 15% of annual rainfall (70-150 cm) contributes to groundwater recharge due to geological factors like fractured bedrock and limited soil aquifer capacity.
• climate Challenges:

– Temperatures are projected to rise between 0.3°C and 2.94°C over the century.- Rainfall may increase by up to 50%, but its intensity remains unpredictable.

• Over-extraction Issues: Hard rock terrains (85% of total area) show heavy dependency on groundwater irrigation, causing depletion. Groundwater-irrigated areas have tripled over the past three decades.
• Seasonal Dynamics: Terrestrial Water Storage is high during Kharif monsoon season; Rabi crops worsen depletion due to reduced surface water availability.
• Soil and Aquifer Factors: Groundwater recharge depends on rainfall infiltration, soil quality, and human abstraction activities; distinct patterns occur with seasonal variability tied heavily to agroclimatic conditions.

indian Opinion Analysis

The study highlights a pressing issue for India’s long-term resource management strategy by delineating critical interactions between agriculture, climate variability, and geology in Telangana. The reliance on groundwater for intensive paddy cultivation underscores potential risks of unsustainable practices leading to decreasing water tables-a problem that could exacerbate with changing rainfall patterns under future climate scenarios.

For India’s agriculture-heavy states like telangana where small-scale farmers dominate rural economies, such findings necessitate immediate policy intervention focusing on efficient water utilization practices alongside bolstering better technologies.Enduring solutions-such as crop diversification toward less water-intensive options-may hold value as part of broader efforts aimed at optimizing inputs without compromising food security or farmer welfare.

Importantly,this research signals a larger need nationwide regarding adaptation frameworks protecting states against correlating challenges around depleted aquifers as well rising precipitation unpredictability across vulnerable rainfed regions signaling cautionary adaption awareness urgently forward trajectories reform needed..

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