CLIMATE CHANGE IN THAR DESERT: A CASE STUDY OF CHURU TOWN, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Abstract

Human induced climate change is the largest most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced. Arid ecosystem is more prone to such phenomenon. Deserts are most typically associated with soaring temperatures, permanently dry air, and endless rolling 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 a very different ways, i.e., Too hot in summer and too cold in winter. It is an alarming situation of climate change, where we can understand with this small example. In Churu district of north Rajasthan, where the sandy ground sizzles in the summers and the wind feels like a hot air boiler in the month of June. The temperatures in those months easily climb up to the high 400 Celsius. Just month, May 2020, the temperature rose to 500 Celsius – and was the highest in the world. Two years, when the mercury breached even the 510 Celsius marks in Churu in early June 2019 – more than halfway to the boiling point of water – for many it was a side bar. 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.