Arid Western India

Photo: Prasad

Abstract: Land Degradation and Climate Change The vulnerability of drylands is now markedly visible with acres of cropped land degraded. The 1977 Landsat MSS image, shows Ghaggar Diversion Channel bringing excess water of Ganga Canal to the interdune plains. The fertile valley of the Drishadvati palaeochannel, with crop lands depicted in blue, covering about half the image can be seen. The 2000 Landsat ETM image shows the same area where the Drishadvati palaeochannel is full of water that seeped out of the flooded interdunes. Milky white tone is indicative of the salinity developed due to waterlogging while red, indicates cropped lands, which show a steep decline from the previous image.

The author is Principal Scientist and Head of Division of Natural Resources & Environment, Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur.