Question

Which of the following is not a drought-prone area?
A. Punjab
B. Rajasthan
C. Gujarat
D. Eastern U.P

Answer 1

Hint: Drought is a phase when moisture deficiency affects the crops under cultivation. For a meteorologist, drought is a prolonged time where precipitation is less than average. It does not have immediate effects of floods but sustained droughts can cause economic stress to the area.

Complete Answer:
- Drought has various definitions and meanings which vary from person’s perspective. However, it does not have immediate effects but its sustained condition gives stress to our economy because it directly affects our agricultural land.
- It is a time of drier than normal conditions that leads to problems linked to water. It drops in an uneven pattern globally. In India, 42% of land is facing drought like conditions and 6 % comes under exceptional dry areas. It has hit the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, parts of the north-east, and parts of the U.P, Tamil Naidu, Rajasthan and Telangana.
- When we talk about Rajasthan, 48 out of 102 years were recorded as drought years since 2020. In Punjab, 50 % land of Gujarat faces drought as per the reports of State Levels Banker’s Committee (SLBC). In Eastern U.P faces moderate to high drought throughout the year and the 2002 and 2004 years were the worst year of drought in Eastern U.P.

Hence, the correct option is Punjab i.e. (Option B) because average annual rainfall recorded there is (110-900mm) which means that it hardly faces drought.

Note: It is not considered as a crisis of urgent nature but considered as a management issue. It is anticipated on the basis of rainfall pattern and temperature etc. In India, this situation occurs due to the failure of south-west monsoon.