Abstract
Saurashtra is a region of western India, located in the Arabian sea coast of Gujarat state. The rainfall in the southern highlands of Saurashtra and the Gulf of Cambay is approximately 63 cms while the other parts of Saurashtra have a rainfall of less than 63cms. The region is cursed due to constant droughts since several decades. The onset of summer in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat can be a frightening prospect. The rocky terrain of low hills and the semi-arid plains begin to radiate immense heat. Water shortage looms large and the memory of the severe drought of 1999-2000 returns to haunt. The available observational evidence indicates that regional changes in climate, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world (IPCC, 2001). Therefore, the present study proposes to assess the vulnerability of selected districts in Saurashtra to climate change by the constructing the vulnerability indices during different periods. Furthermore, the study also provides the classification of these districts under different degrees of vulnerability. Agro-Climatic and Physiographic Description of the Saurashtra Region The Saurashtra region consists of seven districts of Gujarat, the district of Rajkot being the industrial hub of the region. It is a peninsula also called Kathiawar after the Kathi Darbar which ruled part of the region once. The peninsula is shared with the Kutch region which occupies the north, Saurashtra forming the southern portion. The Saurashtra region comprises the south western part of Gujarat state and the districts included in this region are Rajkot, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Amreli, Surendranagar, and some portions of Ahmedabad district also fall under this area. The peninsula of Saurashtra forms a rocky tableland (altitude 300600 meters) fringed by coastal plains with a central part made up of an undulating plain broken by hills and considerably dissected by various rivers that flow in all directions. The eastern fringe of Saurashtra is a low-lying ground marking the site of the former sea connection between the Gulf of Kutch and Khambhat. An elevated
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