Drought News

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Vinu A. Muthukuzhi, inspects his plantain farm that suffered massive loss in the recent heavy rainfall and flooding in Kalliyoor, Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala’s Onam festival marred by a weaker monsoon and subsequent crop loss

K. Rajendran 25 Aug 2026
A pond recently dug by the government in Palamu. When Mongabay-India visited in late July, the pond held little water. Image by Ashwini Kumar Shukla.

After decades of drought-proofing, farms still depend on rain

Ashwini Kumar Shukla 6 Aug 2026
The devastating impacts of the famine on people in then Bellary district, Madras, illustrated for The Graphic (a British weekly newspaper) published on October 6, 1877. Illustration by Horace Harral courtesy of National Portrait Gallery via Public Domain.

Volcanoes, El Niño and colonial policies fuelled two deadly famines in India

Karthik Vinod 30 Jul 2026
Cracks appear in Basant Dangi's field in Pathalgada village, where he normally grows a paddy nursery. Image by Vishal Kumar Jain.

Low rainfall delays paddy farming signalling El Niño-induced drought

Vishal Kumar Jain 27 Jul 2026
A buyer bargains with a sugarcane vendor. Representative image. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Rising sugarcane yields coexist with climate, water risks in semi-arid India

Sneha Mahale 23 Jul 2026
A cement naala baandh in Kiraksal constructed in 2017. Image by Vinaya Kurtkoti.

Watershed management improves livelihoods in drought-prone village

Vinaya Kurtkoti 9 Jul 2026
A farmer inspects his destroyed crop of sugarcane following drought in Marathwada region, Maharashtra, in 2016. Representative image. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)

Centre identifies over 300 vulnerable districts amid El Niño, weak monsoon fears

Kundan Pandey 25 Jun 2026
Municipal workers rescue fish from a dried lake at Ratanpura in Ahmadabad, Gujarat, during a drought in 2016. Representative image. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

El Niño forecast increases likelihood of weak monsoon and water stress

Phalguni Ranjan 18 Jun 2026
A man exits a foot bridge over a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Guwahati, Assam in 2025. Representative image. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

A strong El Niño demands planning, not panic [Commentary]

Madhavan Nair Rajeevan 3 Jun 2026
Trilokinath glacier valley in Lahaul. Image courtesy of Pushpendra Pandey.

The driest spring in four centuries in the Western Himalayas

Vandana K. 16 Mar 2026
New growth emerging from a Neuracanthus plant following a surface fire, enclosed in Xerocoma, amid charred grassland vegetation. Image by Adittya Dharap.

Cottony coats and comebacks

Anusha Krishnan 24 Feb 2026
Rusted boats lie on the dried-up bed of the Aral sea. Image by Arian Zwegers via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Does the dry bed of the Aral Sea reflect India’s water future? [Commentary]

Tisha Srivastav 12 Jan 2026
According to the PMC, the priority stretch between Sangamwadi and Bund Garden is nearly complete. Image by Stephin Thomas.

As a riverfront plan advances, ecologists warn of damage to floodplains, biodiversity

Stephin Thomas 9 Dec 2025
Lamps being lit during Diwali on the banks of the Ganga in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh in 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Human activity is causing the Ganga to dry at levels never seen before

Simrin Sirur 21 Oct 2025
A physically disabled man rests as commuters cross a waterlogged street in 2013 in Guwahati. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Is India’s disaster preparedness inclusive enough?

Aisiri Amin 29 Aug 2025
Women farmers planting millets, a climate-resilient and water-efficient crop, in Keonjhar district, Odisha. Photo by Tanmoy Bhaduri/IWMI.

AI-based drought advisory tool aimed at enabling early action

Manish Chandra Mishra 11 Jul 2025

How droughts and worsening soil health can increase carbon emissions

Sharmila Vaidyanathan 24 Jun 2024

Restrictions implemented as dwindling water sources strain water supply in parts of Bengaluru

Sweta Daga 14 Mar 2024

[Explainer] What are ecological droughts?

Simrin Sirur 17 Jan 2024

As Ken-Betwa project barrels ahead, new research finds river interlinking could worsen drought

Simrin Sirur 23 Oct 2023