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November 22, 2024Rainfall is a form of precipitation. It is a natural phenomenon by which water droplets come back to the earth and evaporate to form clouds. Rainfall is the major source of freshwater that maintains the water cycle. Effects of Uneven Rainfall can cause many destructions and harm the ecosystem.
When this rainfall occurs adequately, it seems a blessing to living creatures on the earth. But, if it occurs unevenly, lots of destructions may come. For example, very little or no rainfall for a prolonged period leads to drought, while too much rainfall in a particular area for a long tenure leads to flood. Both droughts and floods are natural calamities that cause huge losses to the country’s life, property, and economy. In this article, let’s learn everything about the effects of uneven rainfall in detail.
We know that our country is the global agricultural powerhouse, and Indian agriculture is rain-fed to a great extent, i.e., around \(55\%\) of the gross cropped area comes under rain-fed farming. Thus, it is very necessary to get an adequate amount of rainfall for an uninterrupted food supply worldwide. Various factors affect the distribution of rainfall around the earth’s surface, such as airflow direction, the temperature of the air, moisture-laden winds, ocean currents, distance inland from the coast, and mountain ranges.
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The rate of rainfall is not steady all the time. Sometimes, precipitation falls unevenly. Some days, we have no precipitation; some have steady light drizzle or snowfall, and a few days have copious downpours. This unevenness or asymmetry in rainfall patterns has certain impacts: Areas with little precipitation can lead to drought, while areas with prolonged heavy downpours can lead to floods. This irregularity in rainfall distribution all over the world is known as uneven rainfall.
The distribution of rainfall is uneven in different places because of the following reasons:
Due to several reasons for uneven rainfall, as discussed above, we notice many undesirable effects. Though rainfall is a boon to us if it occurs unevenly, it may lead to adverse effects, as discussed below:
A weather condition in which the rainfall is less than normal for a prolonged period of weeks, months, or years is known as drought. Mostly, areas that rely on rainfall and surface water are more likely to experience drought. A lack of water in stores such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and underground water can lead to drought. Surface water evaporates rapidly in warm, dry conditions leading to an increased risk of drought.
Due to continuous downpour for a prolonged period, the overflow of water in a huge amount beyond its limit, submerging the entire affected area, is known as the flood. It is one of the most dangerous effects of uneven heavy rainfall that leads to the dam burst, making the situation even worse.
The importance of monsoon cannot be overlooked for a country like India, where 60% of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture in India is mostly dependent on rainfall for irrigation. Adequate rainfall is very important for sowing seeds to growing crop plants, also to maintain soil fertility. But agriculture is adversely affected by both droughts as well as floods.
Again, agriculture plays a vital role in maintaining the economy of a country, especially India. Natural calamities such as drought and flood, along with irregular monsoon, reduces food stocks as well as food production for a particular year which eventually affects the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) rate of the country.
Adequate rainfall is very important for the survival of all living creatures. Due to lack of fresh water, aquatic organisms and other plants and animals, including human beings, will suffer scarcity that may even be fatal. Also, in floods, the entire ecosystem gets disturbed when living organisms lose their habitats.
The Himalayan range is vulnerable to torrential rainfall in the form of a cloudburst, flash flood, or glacial lake outburst flood. Cloudburst and flash floods occur due to high-intensity rainfall that may cause a landslide that blocks the river channels.
Light and adequate rains come as a blessing for living beings, but when an area receives prolonged heavy rains in the absence of a proper drainage system, it becomes havoc causes damage to infrastructure, and takes lives due to floods. A sudden, heavy downpour of this type is called a cloudburst.
At the same time, a lack of rainfall in an area for a long duration leads to drought. This uneven rainfall distribution is due to geographical set-up, direction and speed of the wind, clouds’ movement, evaporation rate, etc. But, along with these natural reasons, global warming is also playing a vital role in manipulating these rainfall patterns worldwide.
Due to an increase in the temperature of the earth, polar ice caps are melting, which increases the chance of floods due to an increase in the sea level. Also, the rate of evaporation increases due to warm climatic conditions that may lead to hazards like a cloud burst.
Thus, there are numerous reasons for uneven rainfall that should be checked because it causes loss to lives, infrastructure, properties, food supply, as well as economic growth of a country. To conclude, we can say that “rainfall is a boon as well as a bane”.
Q.1. What is the consequence of uneven rainfall?
Ans: Various natural calamities like drought, floods, landslides, etc., are the consequences of uneven rainfall. Poor agriculture, the slow economic growth rate are also the indirect consequences of uneven rainfall.
Q.2. What are the causes of unequal rainfall?
Ans: The places located on the windward side of the mountains receive more rainfall because when the moisture-laden winds strike the windward side of the mountains, it causes heavy rainfall, while the leeward side receives less rainfall. Other causes of unequal rainfall include monsoon trough, distance from the sea, movement of clouds, global warming, etc.
Q.3. What is irregular rainfall?
Ans: The pattern of rainfall that may include a too high or too low rate of precipitation over a certain region which may lead to heavy rainfall or very low rainfall, is known as irregular rainfall. Both droughts, as well as floods, cause great loss to life and property.
Q.4. What has evenly distributed rainfall?
Ans: A reliable and adequate amount of rainfall in a particular period of the year is known as evenly distributed rainfall. An evenly distributed rainfall is a boon for all living creatures on the earth.
Q.5. Why is precipitation unevenly distributed throughout the world?
Ans: Due to certain geographical features on the earth, precipitation is unevenly distributed throughout the world. For example, the regions located on the windward side of the mountains receive more rainfall because when the moisture-laden winds strike the windward side of the mountains, it causes heavy rainfall, while the leeward side receives less rainfall. On the other hand, the regions located on the leeward side of the mountains get scarce rainfall.
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