06
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THAR DESERT: A CASE STUDY OF CHURU TOWN,RAJASTHAN, INDIA
Mehnaj Sheikh1 and M. M. Sheikh2
Research Scholar, IASE University, Sardar Shahar (Churu) Rajasthan, India
2
Associate Professor (Geography) and Head, Govt. Lohia College, Churu, Rajasthan
Email: mmskh@rediffmail.com
1

Abstract: Human induced climate change is the largest most
How to cite this paper:
Sheikh, Mehnaj and Sheikh,M. M. (2023) Climate Change
in Thar Desert: A Case Studyof Churu Town, Rajasthan,India, Journal of Global
Resources, Vol. 09 (01)DOI:
10.46587/JGR.2023.v09i01.006

Received: 11 Nov. 2022
Reviewed: 30 Dev. 2022
Final Accepted: 15 Jan. 2023

pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world
has ever experienced. Arid ecosystem is more prone to suchphenomenon. Deserts are most typically associated withsoaring temperatures, permanently dry air, and endlessrolling sand dunes. But in summer in “Thar” desert, it
becomes so cold and freeze. The Thar desert climate refers
to a specific type of climate that encompasses more than
one weather type. But for last one decade its changing in avery different ways, i.e., Too hot in summer and too cold inwinter. It is an alarming situation of climate change, where
we can understand with this small example. In Churu districtof north Rajasthan, where the sandy ground sizzles in thesummers and the wind feels like a hot air boiler in the monthof June. The temperatures in those months easily climb up
to the high 400 Celsius. Just month, May 2020, thetemperature rose to 500 Celsius – and was the highest in theworld. Two years, when the mercury breached even the 510
Celsius marks in Churu in early June 2019 – more thanhalfway to the boiling point of water – for many it was a sidebar. Six months later, by December-January in some years,
Churu has seen just-below zero degrees Celsius
temperatures. And in February 2020, the India
Meteorological Department found the lowest minimum
temperature in the plains of India to be in Churu, at 4.10
Celsius. In view of above the present study has been
undertaken to deliberate the climate change impact in small
desert town.
Key word: Arid Zone, Small Desert Town, Climate Change,
Extremes of temperatures, Freeze Clod

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Introduction
It is hard to imagine that global warming would have much effect on the world's already hot
deserts. But even small changes in temperature or precipitation could drastically impact plants
and animals living in the desert. In some cases, global warming is predicted to increase thearea of deserts, which already cover a quarter of Earth (National Geographic). We are in the
21st century. The population is expanding, the demand for resources is increasing, the climate
is changing and the impact of humanity on the earth is increasing day by day. There would bedaunting challenges for human society and the environment in coming times to facilitate safe,
sufficient, and secured resources for all dimensions of life. We must achieve a better quality oflife for our growing population sustainably, without compromising the requirements of future
generations to achieve the same.
Environmental changes, including changing rainfall patterns and vegetation, haveaffected Rajasthan’s desert ecology, impacting local flora and fauna. The rainfall pattern of thestate has been changing over the past three decades. According to the India Meteorological
Department, there has been an increasing trend in the number of rainy days in the year, andheavy rainfall days during monsoons have risen in several districts. IMD’s analysis says thatbetween 1989-2018, a period of 30 years, there has been a “significant” increase in heavy
rainfall days in the entire year, particularly for the western parts of the state. Heavy rainfalldays indicate more than 65 mm of rain in a day. The analysis also points to an increase in the
total number of rainy days in a year for several districts within the same period. The draft
Rajasthan State Action Plan on Climate Change (Anon. 2022)) also says that the western partof the state shows an increasing trend of more than 2 mm of rainfall per year, and so does thesouth eastern part. “The annual maximum rainfall shows a positive trend in several grids
spread all over Rajasthan,” the action plan said.
Over the last few decades, major efforts have been underway to boost agriculture andincrease the state’s green cover. The Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP), or the Indira Gandhi
Canal, whose origin in 1952 was aimed at improving irrigation and drinking water facilities in
Rajasthan, has played an important role in boosting agriculture. Sand deposition on the canal,
however, was identified as a challenge. Hence shelter belt plantations on either side of thecanal began to be carried out. In the same vein, afforestation efforts to stabilise shifting sanddunes were also carried out. Bare dunes were planted with ‘brushwood and windbreaks,
perpendicular to wind direction’ so that the dunes do not interfere with the canal system andirrigated farmlands. Having said that, between1970 to 2013, there has been a 16 percent
decline in sand dunes which is “a concern (Moharana et al. 2016).
Study Area
Churu town (area 45.0 Km2 in 2011) is the headquarters of Churu district located in northernpart of the Rajasthan State. It is positioned at latitude 280 18‟ north and longitude 740 58‟ east,
at a height of about 286 meters above the mean sea level. Churu district with a total
geographical area of 13835 Km2 is located between 730 52’ 40” and 750 40’30” east longitudeand between 270 25’10” and 280 59’20”. It is surrounded by Hanumangarh district in the north,
Nagaur, Sikar and Jhunjhunu districts in the south. Hissar (Haryana state) district in the eastand Bikaner in the west (Fig. 1). There are seven tehsil headquarters in this district. viz. Churu,
Sujangarh, Bidasar, Ratangarh, Sardarsahar, Rajgarh and Taranagar. Churu is well connectedby road network to all its neighbouring areas, along with metro-cities like Jaipur, Bikaner, Delhi,
and other important cities. The National Highway 65 (Pali-Ambala) passes through the town.
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The nearby towns of Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Hanumangarh, Fatehpur, Sardarshahar are very wellconnected by regional roads. The town is directly connected by broad gauge rail with Delhi,
Jaipur, Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar. It is about 282 kms. from Delhi, 198 kms. from Jaipur and180 kms. from Bikaner by rail. The nearest Airport is at Jaipur (206 kms.). Thus, the city is wellassociated with several other big cities.
Figure 01: Study Area Key Map

Sources: Collected from India and Rajasthan State Government websites
The district is mosaic of sand dunes and interdune plains. About 92.26 percent area of the
district is occupied by aeolian landforms mainly sand dunes and sandy undulating interdunal plains(CAZRI, 2012).

Climate
The climate of Churu city is hot and arid with large variation in temperature. Rainfall is scanty.
The average temperature variation in summers and winters are 37.540 to 24.940 C and 29.050
to 9.150 C respectively. The maximum and minimum temperature recorded is 49.20 C insummer and -2.70 C in winter. Dust storm and thunder storm occur all through the summer andare particularly active in pre-monsoon period. The predominant wind direction is from west andsouth-west and average wind speed 5.7 to 9.2 mph. The south-west monsoon is active in theregion from July to mid-September and contributes73 percent of the mean annual rainfall which
is 413.61 mm (mean annual rainfall from 1956 to 2016). So far, the rainfall variability isconcerned, the mean annual rainfall over the region from 1986 to 1995 was 364.4 mm with CV
31.21 percent; 1996-2005 (408.5mm with CV 39.68 percent) and 2006-2016 (463.0 mm withCV 32.05 percent) respectively (Yadav et. al. (2018). There is large inter- annual variation in58

rainfall. Lowest 20.3 mm was recorded in 1918 and highest 1036.0 mm during 1978 (CAZRI,2012). Average number of rainy days comes to 20.4. In summer the mean humidity is 60
percent.
Table 01: Monthly Minimum and Maximum Average Temperature, 2010 to 2022#
MonthsMaximum Temp. (0C)
Minimum Temp. (0C)
1.
January
21.6
11.0
2.
February
25.2
14.5
3.
March
31.4
19.6
4.
April
37.5
25.0
5.
May
41.7
29.6
6.
June
42.6
31.9
7.
July
38.3
31.3
8.
August36.3
29.3
9.
September
35.6
27.4
10.
October
34.2
24.0
11.
November
28.6
18.1
12.
December
23.3
12.6
Source: IMD, Govt. of India

Table 02: Minimum Temperature Recorded in Different Years, 2011 to 2023
Date

Year

25 December
31 December
29 December
30 December
14 December
19 December
08 December
29 December
27 December
30 December
21 December

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Minimum*
Temp. (0C)
-1-4
1.9
-0.5
0.1
-0.4
4.1
1.5
-0.6
-0.6
-1.1
-2.6

Year

21 January, 201208 January, 201303 January, 201429 January, 201522 January, 201612 January, 201707 January, 201829 January, 201911 January, 2020
01 January, 2021
03 January, 2022
03 January, 2023
Source: *IMD, Govt. of India, # Dainik Bhaskar, Churu 04.01.2023

Minimum Temp. (0C)
-1.1
-1.1
2.7
2.1
-1.9
1.0
1.0
-1.1
1.8
-0.2
0.03
-0.9

Figure 02: Average Minimum and Maximum Sunshine Hours, Churu

Source: https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/india/churu-weather-december#temperature

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Figure 03: Maximum Temperature in India and surrounding Countries, 2022

Source: www.weather.com

Geology
The climate of the area is semi-arid to arid and the average annual rainfall is 320 mm. The
major part of the district is irrigated by Indira Gandhi Canal System. The Geology of the districtis largely concealed by windblown sand and has been worked out on the basis of scanty
exposures and from dug well and borehole data. The area a part of the Thar desert, is basicallya fluvio-aeolian depositional basin containing 255 m thick pile of Quaternary sediments. It ischaracterized by an undulatory topography consisting of sand dunes interspersed withinterdunal valley and linear depressions. The various rock types of the area belong to the Delhi
Supergroup, Erinpura Granite, Malani Igneous Suite and the Marwar Supergroup and thetertiary sediments including the Palana Formation of Palaeocene age. The oldest rocksequence in the area belongs to the Punagarh Group comprising slate, phyllite, quartz-mica
schist, ferruginous quartzite etc. of the Delhi Super Group. These rocks are well exposed southof Bidasar and east of Pandurai. The metasediments of the Punagarh Group are intruded byGranite, Pegmatile and amphibolite. The youngest Malani Igneous Suite is represented by
Porphyritic rhyolite and granite. The dug-well and borehole data have revealed rocks of the
Marwar Super Group occurring beneath thick pile of Quaternary Sediments in Southwesternpart of the district. These are divisible into three groups, namely, the Jodhpur Group, the Bilara/Hanseran Evaporite Group and the Nagaur Group. Ground water potential in the area ranges
from less than 10 to 100 litres per second (LPS).
Mineral Resources
The mineral resources of Churu are substantially good. Phyllite, Slate and Quartzite quarriedat Bidasar, Biramsar, Dungras and Gopalpura are utilized as building stone. Rhyolite isextensively quarried from Randisar hill for use as road metal and building stone. Small isolated
patches of gypsum are seen at several places around Taranagar. Gypsite occurs at 0.3 to 1.5
meter below the surface. The occurrences of gypsum near Baen, Bhanin, Deogarh and Satyun
are promising. Potash minerals such as polyhalite and sylvite have been intersected around60550-meter depth in several boreholes drilled by the Geological Survey of India at and around
Lakhasar, Jhanjheu etc. in halite – bearing evaporate sequence of the Hanseran Evaporite
Group. Limestone occurrences are located near Asrasar and NW of Mundra. Occurrences ofsalt are reported from south of Pandurai. Efflorescence of salt petre (Potassium Nitrate) isfound on the soil in some places in Rajgarh tehsil. They also contain some amount of sodium
chloride and sodium sulphate. Besides this copper mineralization is also observed in the
Biramsar hill and in Bidasar area.
Soils
Soils of Churu district are dominantly of very deep coarse textured sand with low moistureretention capacity. They are somewhat excessively drained, loamy sand to fine sand, single
grained, moderately alkaline and are of normal, moderately and highly hummocky. Soil of theregion falls within rainfall zone of 100-350 mm. The soil is desert type. Sand dunes Aeoliansoil is loamy coarse in texture and calcareous. Most of the area in the district falls under thisLoamy soil. This soil covers an area of about 45 percent. It is also poor in fertility status. Only
kharif crops are grown. Sandy soils are found in the area. High longitudinal sand dunes are
spread in the district. These shifting sand dunes restrict the crop production to stabilized sites
only. These soils are very poor in organic carbon as well as other essential plant nutrients.
This type of soils covers an area of about 30 percent. Sandy Loam soils are poor in organiccarbon and water holding capacity. This results in Churu having very sparse vegetation. Thesesoils are suitable for conserved moisture farming. Soils irrigated with underground water facecertain challenges. The salt gets accumulated in the soil which becomes problematic. Under
such soil conditions only salt tolerant crops are raised. This type of soils covers an area of
about 17 percent. Saline or Alkaline soil covers an area of about 5 percent of the total area,
Saline or Alkaline Soils are irrigated with underground water which again, get salts
accumulated and become problematic. Under such soil conditions only salt tolerant crops areraised. The nutrition value of the soils is very poor. The low content of organic matter in thesesoils has been attributed to high temperature, low rainfall, scanty and scrub vegetation coverand sandy texture of the soils. High temperature and good aeration in these soils increased
the rate of oxidation of organic matter resulting in the reduction of soil organic carbon content(Meena et al. 2006; Singh et al. 2007; Mahesh Kumar et al. 2009b). 23.96 percent soils qualify
for land capability class III and 49.29 percent under class VII (CAZRI, 2012).
Drainage
The topography of Churu city is cup shaped, the town being surrounded by sand dunes takes
the shape and structure of a cup. Due to scanty rains in the region, natural drainage system
has not been evolved. In fact, there is no river/rivulet in the entire Churu district. In Churu town
itself no natural drainage system exists to drain away the rainwater or wastewater from thetown. Presently there exists a minimal network of storm water drains in the city. The existing
network of (roadside) storm water drains in Churu has been identified under three broad
categories as follows: (i) open pucca (concrete drains) and (ii) closed pucca. (iii) kutcha.
Geohydrology and Groundwater
Geohydrological of the Churu district is broadly grouping geological formations from groundwater occurrence and movement considerations, the various lithological units have beenclassified into two groups on the basis of their degree of consolidation and related parameters.
These are, (i) Porous Formations- unconsolidated quaternary formations (ii) Porous
Formations – semi unconsolidated porous tertiary formations (iii) Fissured formations –61

consolidated protereozoic formations. On an average 80 percent of the district area covered
with porous formations. There are number of National Hydrographic monitoring stations ofCentral Ground Water Board in and around Churu. In most of the cases ground water table
ranged between 20 -60 meter below ground level. Annual extirpable ground water resourcesin the district comes to 116.11 mcm while current ground water extraction for all uses comesto 134.10 mcm. Thus, the stage of ground water development comes to 115.49 percent(CGWB, 2022). It varies from 59.52 percent in Sardarshahr to 304.43 percent in Rajgarh CD
Block.
The entire Churu city is considered dark zone from groundwater exploitation point ofview. As far as groundwater condition is concerned, it is available at a depth of approximately
45-50 m and that too is brackish with TDS level is in the range of 1890 to 4,200 ppm, Chloride
level is between 320 to 1160 ppm, Nitrate between 70 to 230 ppm and Fluoride between 1.2
to 1.9 ppm (Ref. PHED). Groundwater quality of Churu city is not in conformity with the set
norms of Government of Rajasthan. It is highly brackish and TDS, Chloride, Nitrate andFluoride content is far beyond the set safe limits and WHO standards. Consumption of thishigh fluoride content has resulted in medical issues like bone deformity and joint pains (asevident from public perception). Further high nitrate water is not appropriate for infants as they
may develop ‘Blue-Baby’ disease and elderly persons may face gastric and digestive problem.
So, the quality of water is a big challenge for people who are forced to consume it as they haveno alternative option for replacement of the hard water. The mean surface water resources inthe district are estimated to 99.06 mcm and imported water 1420.5 mcm (Beg and Ahmad,2015).
Review of Literature
Churu, called the ‘gateway to the Thar desert’ in some accounts, is of course just one link in alarger global chain of climate change. The Rajasthan State Action Plan on Climate Change
discusses the growth of greenhouse gas emissions globally after 1970. It focuses onnationwide factors, beyond just Rajasthan, that feed into the larger scale GHG-driven changes.
Many of these arise in greater activity in the energy sector, increased use of fossil fuels,
emissions in the agriculture sector, growing industrial processes, and due to ‘land-use, landuse change and forestry.’ All these are ever-shifting links in the complex web of climatechange. (www.undp.org). In order to bring out impact of climate change in the study area, it isessential to review the research work carried out on natural resources, human activities, andregional developments in the region. CAZRI (2012) carried out natural resources appraisal ofthe district; CGWB (2022) assessed the ground water and made plans for its management anddevelopment. Scientist of CAZRI also carried out study on drought and desertification(Moharana et.al 2016), Mahesh Kumar et. al (2009b) on soil resources; Singh et al (2007) on
soil nutrients. Studies on surface and ground water has been carried out by Beg and Ahmad,(2015), Yadav et. al (2018) on rainfall variability, Chuwah et. al (2016) on climate impact onaerosol; Das et. al (2013) on change in rainfall and temperature pattern; Pai et. al (2013) on
trends of heat wave; Rohini et.al (2016) on variability and increasing trend in heat wave.
Besides the reports of various line departments of Rajasthan Government, are consulted toassess the impact of climate change on various aspect/fields and locations.
The analysis found that human-induced climate change increased the risk of 510 C.
maximum temperatures to be exceeded in the grid-box around Phalodi in 2015 from a 1 in 2030 year event to a 01 in 7-10 year event, so a small increase in probability. At the same time62

an event of this magnitude is only expected to occur every 40-49 years in a year of the same
overall warming as 2015 but without the specific sea surface temperatures that were observed(World Weather Attribution 2016). Increasing concentrations of aerosols in the atmosphere
block sunlight and so cause a cooling effect on the ground (Wild et al. 2007). There is generalagreement between the decreasing trend in optical depth and increasing trend in maximum
temperature.
.
This hypothesis is supported by another research. Kumari et. al. (2007), using station
data collected from the IMD, find that the average solar dimming as a result of increased
aerosols from human activity is approximately −0.86 W/m2 per year over India for the period
1981–2004. Over the past decade aerosol optical depth has been increasing 4 percent per
year over India (Kumari et. al., 2007; K. Moorthy, 2013). As energy policies shift away fromfossil fuels, it is likely the cooling effect of aerosols across Asia will diminish, resulting in an
increase in the intensity of heat waves over the coming decades. Earth System Model (ESM)
experiments indicate an increase in the intensity, duration, and frequency of severe heat waves
for the 2070-2099 period in most parts of India, with the highest increase in intensity projected
to occur in northern India (Murari et. al., 2015).
Another well-known effect that can counteract heating, especially in the maximum
temperatures, is increased irrigation. The extra water availability means that incoming solar
energy is used more for evaporation and less for raising the temperatures. There is evidence
that increased irrigation has decreased dry season maximum temperatures in many regionsof the world, e.g., by up to 5 ºC in California (Kueppers et al, 2007, Lobell et al, 2008).
Results and Discussion
So far, the temperature in Churu city is concerned, the first important aspect is the highvariation in the daily temperature. The main reason fort this is the desert geographical featurethat persists here. Second there is a higher temperature than normal in the summer season.
In the winter season the temperature below normal is recorded. Both the extremes oftemperature are experienced here. In the summer season, especially in the months of May
and June, the maximum temperature goes up to more than 50 degrees Celsius. Due to whichstrong hot winds (locally called Loo) start blowing here in the afternoon.
In the winter season (between December 15 to January 26), there is a significant drop in
temperature due to which the city of Churu reels under cold wave. There are many climaticand geographical reasons for the fall in temperature in winter. A lot of difference is also seenin the daily temperature here. Where the temperature during the day exceeds 20 degrees
centigrade, at night, especially between three o'clock in the morning and five o'clock in themorning, the temperature goes down to less than zero. On 28 December 1973, the minimum
temperature of Churu city was recorded at -4.6 degree centigrade. The same minimum
temperature on 15 December 2021 is -2. 6 degrees centigrade was recorded. Thus, we seethat from 15th December to 26th January the temperature remains around the freezing point.
And the main reason for the drop in temperature is the icy winds coming from the Himalayan
Mountains. The main reasons for the high temperature in Churu region are highlighted below.
1. Presence of fine particles of sand soil: The city of Churu is located at the extreme
end of the desert part, due to which the particles of sand soil are fine here because
when the sand soil comes with the wind, the coarse particles are left behind, fine Soil
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2.

3.

4.

5.
6.

7.

8.

9.

particles heat up and cool down more quickly than other soil particles. For this reason,
the temperature in the desert areas is high during the day and the temperature is low
in the night. The daily variation in temperature is seen in both summer and winterseason. A mixture of fine and coarse particles is found here. This can be observed in
the following picture (Fig. 5) that the average maximum temperature is found to be highin this entire region.
Due to lack of moisture in the soil, there is a lack of fertility, high salt content
increases this problem as it absorbs more of the sun's heat and increases thetemperature of the surface.
In the month of May-June, due to the absence of any type of crop in the area, thetemperature of the area remains high. Due to which in these two months, due to thehigh temperature in the summer season, hot strong wind, which is called 'Loo', blows
here. It causes a lot of damage to the flora and fauna other living beings.
Temperature: The average length of the day in May in Churu is 13 hours and 34
minutes. April through June, with an average maximum ultraviolet (UV) index of 9, aremonths with the highest ultraviolet index in Churu, India. An Ultra Violate Index of 8
to 10 symbolizes a very high health vulnerability from unsafe exposure to ultraviolet
radiation for the ordinary person. December has the shortest days of the year in Churu,
India, with an average of 10 hours and 23 minutes of daylight.
Humidity: May is the least humid month in Churu, with an average relative humidity of
17 percent.
Minimum Vegetation Cover: Less than one percent of the total area in the district iscovered by vegetation or forest cover which is the lowest in the state of Rajasthan. The
area which is found under the forest is also scrub dominated and degraded.
Area of low air pressure: Due to high temperature in summer, there is a low-pressure
situation in the area. As a rule, air flows towards the least pressure. Similarly, even in
winter, the temperature during the day is higher than in the surrounding areas. Due tothis phenomenon of low air pressure, direct effect of cold air coming from the north isseen in the area.
Due to biodiversity and climate change, the temperature of almost all the places isincreasing. In Churu also the temperature is increasing due to the destruction of local
vegetation like Ker (Capparis desidua), Khejri (Prosopis cineraria), Khimp (Leptadenia
pyrotechnica), Phog (Calligonum poligonoides), Sinia (Crotolaria burhia), Aak(Calotropis procera) etc. In nature, many small and big plants arise naturally. But for
the last two decades, due to their lack of conservation and domestic use andpastoralism, they are slowly disappearing from the area
Terrestrial energy: The rays coming from the sun on the earth heat the surface andalong with it the particles of dust, soil and micro water vapour present in the atmospherealso keep heating up. The soil particles are fine here, the vegetation cover is less, theagricultural yield is also zero (in summer and winter season), the moisture content in
the soil is also less, the fertility is also less, in the soil Salt content is high etc. Due toall these reasons the surface heats up rapidly. That is, by absorbing the rays of thesun, the surface itself starts heating up rapidly due to which the temperature is recorded
higher between two o'clock in the afternoon to four in the evening. This condition occurs
in both summer and winter season. This is the reason why the temperature is always
high during the day. Whereas at night the temperature drops rapidly due to the opposite
situation and the temperature is recorded less. There is less moisture in the64atmosphere, that is, the amount of moisture is less, the amount of dust particles ismore, due to which the temperature of the area increases.
10. Geographical Location: Churu is located at the eastern margin of the desert land.
Due to this an area of low air pressure with hot winds is developed in the summer
season. Similarly in winter, cold winds coming from the north come directly to thisregion. Such uninterrupted cold and icy winds bring temperature below zero degree
Celsius. Thus, the position of Churu acts like a greenhouse and when the temperatureof the area is more or less, the air cannot move it forward at the speed with which it
should increase. This is the reason that the effect of temperature in both the seasons
is more visible in Churu city. The Fig. 5 shows the Churu and Fatehpur towns covered
under low pressure zone.
Figure 04: Location of Churu and Fatehpur City

11. Location of the city on the globe: The location of the city of Churu on the globe issuch that it comes in direct contact with the warm air coming from the west in summer
and the cold air coming from the north in winter.
12. Due to the lack of water vapour or moisture or humidity in the air and the excess offine particles of dust, soil energy plays its role in increasing or increasing thetemperature of the area.
13. Many other factors also play their role in reducing and increasing the temperature of
the area such as – wind direction, wind speed, amount of humidity, amount of solar
energy etc.
14. Climate Change: The impact of climate change is being seen globally as well as locally
due to the damage to the environment. Such changes also affect human health, theirworking capability as well as working hours. The frequency of climate extremes willchange in response to shifts in both mean climate and climate variability. Variability inweather and climate inherently leads to the occurrence of extreme weather or climate
events. These events, more unusual and more severe than normal or average weather,include for example heatwaves (high-temperature events), cold waves (lowtemperature events), downpours (heavy-precipitation events) and droughts (lowprecipitation events).

65

15. Average Annual Rainfall: As we know that the average annual rainfall in desert areas
is very less. The average annual rainfall of Churu district is around 300 mm. Due towhich the vegetation cover is also less here and due to over-exploitation of groundwater and due to lack of rainfall, the recharge of water is not possible. At the same time,
due to the excess of salt in the ground water in almost all the areas, it is not suitable as
drinking water.
16. Other unnatural causes: Apart from the above mentioned natural and geographicalreasons, there are some other reasons which show their effect in some degree. For
example, rapid increase in population, increase in residential i.e., built-up area, change
in building material, because earlier this type of building material was used which wasenvironment friendly. Due to excess means of transport and increase in industrial units
due to increase in air pollution etc.
1.

Watering on Road in Summer, Churu

2.

Dense Fog in Winter, Churu

Conclusion
Churu town, the district headquarters of Churu district in Rajasthan State is located within hot
arid ‘Thar’ desert. Sand dunes and sandy undulating interdunal plains are dominant landforms
covering 89 percent district area. Virtually no natural drainage system exists in the region
except a tiny Kantli dry river. Soils of Churu district are dominantly of very deep coarse textured
sand with low moisture retention capacity. Only 24 percent soils qualify for land capability class
III while 49.3 percent area falls in Class VII. Vegetation is very poor (mainly scrub) in terms ofdensity and vigour. Forest land just cover 0.48 percent district area. These scrub-based forest
are in almost degraded state. Surface water resources are meagre (99.96 mcm). Ground wateris very deep, saline (61.2 percent) and over exploited (11.4 percent). Extremes of temperatures(both regional and local level), low, high variable, erratic, ill distributed and unpredictable
rainfall pattern; high wind speed and frequent occurrence of droughts mark the climaticcharacteristics of the region. Human activities viz. mining, removal of vegetation (particularlyof ‘Phog’), encroachments over common lands, levelling of sand dunes and development ofirrigated farming, mechanized farming, and industrialization. The combined impact of thesenatural phenomenon and human intervention lead to widen and intense negative impact ofclimate change. The behaviour of rainfall, temperature and other climatic parameters areenormously changed towards negative mode. Together these happenings badly affected
agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry on one side and human livelihood on the other.

66

The time now calls for reduction of unwarranted activities from all the corners; cometogether; conserve, use and manage natural resources properly; develop eco-friendly,
indigenous and low-cost technologies and finally plan viable and sustainable development
plans and cooperation from all sectors to minimise the impact of alarming climate change.
References
1. Beg, M. and Ahmad, S. (2015). Water resources management in arid and semi-arid regionsof Rajasthan: A Case study. Proc. 8th Int. Conf. on Recent advances in Civil Engg.,
Architecture and Env. Engg. for sustainable development. ISBN 978-81-930585-7-3.
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percent20warming
percent20is
percent20increasing
percent20the,them
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percent20fast percent2Dgrowing percent20grasses.
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