The Thar Desert
The world's most densely populated desert, where canal irrigation, minerals and solar power drive development despite extreme heat and scarce water.
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- India
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Evidence
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Area of the Thar Desert
200,000square kilometres
3 sources
“It covers an area of about 77,000 square miles (200,000 square kilometers).”
Population density
83people per square kilometre
3 sources
“the most thickly populated desert in the world, with an average density of 83 people per 0.4 square mile (1 square kilometer)”
Annual rainfall
100-500millimetres
2 sources
“Rainfall is limited to 100-500 mm from July to September but is mostly unpredictable and erratic.”
Peak summer temperature
50degrees Celsius
3 sources
“Winter temperatures approach freezing, while summer temperatures soar over 50°C.”
Length of the Indira Gandhi Canal
837kilometres
2 sources
“with total length of 837 kilometres (520 mi), is the longest canal in India”
Capacity of Bhadla Solar Park
2,245megawatts
3 sources
“With 2,245 MW of Commissioned Solar Projects, World's Largest Solar Park is Now at Bhadla”
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Background
The Thar Desert covers about 200,000 square kilometres of north west India and eastern Pakistan, most of it in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Rainfall is low and unreliable, between 100 and 500 millimetres a year, and almost all of it falls during the summer monsoon. Summer temperatures can pass 50 degrees Celsius. Despite this, the Thar is the most densely populated desert on Earth, with around 83 people per square kilometre, many of them farmers and herders. Development has transformed parts of the desert. The Indira Gandhi Canal carries river water from Punjab deep into Rajasthan, turning dry land near Jaisalmer into irrigated fields of wheat and cotton. The desert also holds valuable minerals, including gypsum and limestone, and its cloudless skies and cheap open land now host huge solar farms such as Bhadla Solar Park, along with thousands of wind turbines. Tourists visit Jaisalmer's fort and ride camels on the dunes. The challenges remain serious. Water is scarce, the heat makes outdoor work dangerous, and overgrazing and firewood cutting on the desert margins risk turning fragile grazing land into bare sand.
Causes
Monsoon edge location keeps it dry
The Thar sits on the dry edge of the Indian monsoon. Moist summer winds drop most of their rain further east, and the Aravalli hills block much of the rest, so most of the desert receives between 100 and 500 millimetres a year. The rain that does come is unreliable, arriving in a few heavy bursts, and some years bring almost none.
A growing population presses on fragile land
Around 83 people per square kilometre live in the Thar, far more than any other desert supports. Families keep goats, sheep and cattle, and herds have grown with the population. More animals mean more grazing and more trees cut for firewood, so vegetation on the desert margins struggles to recover and soil is left open to the wind.
Irrigation and energy schemes opened the desert
Construction of the Indira Gandhi Canal began in 1958 to bring river water from Punjab into the desert. Irrigation made commercial farming possible and drew settlers into western Rajasthan. More recently, cheap land and some of the sunniest skies in India attracted energy companies, and the desert now hosts some of the largest solar parks in the world.
Effects
Primary
- Irrigation from the Indira Gandhi Canal turned large areas of desert in western Rajasthan into farmland.
- Summer heat above 50 degrees Celsius makes outdoor work dangerous in May and June.
- Bhadla Solar Park, with a capacity of 2,245 megawatts, is one of the largest solar sites in the world.
Secondary
- Waterlogging and salt build up damage some poorly drained canal irrigated fields.
- New farms, mines and energy plants have pulled workers and settlers into the desert.
- Overgrazing on the margins strips vegetation and lets wind erosion spread bare sand.
Social
- Canal water supplies drinking water to many desert towns and villages.
- Away from the canal, many families still spend hours each day fetching water from distant wells.
- Jobs in mining, energy and tourism give alternatives to herding and subsistence farming.
Economic
- Irrigated land grows commercial crops such as wheat and cotton for sale outside the region.
- Gypsum, limestone and other minerals from the desert supply India's cement and plaster industries.
- Desert festivals and Jaisalmer's fort bring tourist spending into Rajasthan.
Environmental
- Solar and wind farms provide low carbon power but occupy large areas of desert habitat.
- Desertification risk grows where overgrazing and firewood cutting leave soil exposed.
- Canal irrigation has raised water tables locally, causing salinisation in badly drained fields.
Responses
Immediate
- Villages store monsoon rain in ponds and underground tanks to last through the dry months.
- Fodder and water are trucked out to livestock areas during drought years.
- Farmers shift heavy outdoor work into the early morning to avoid the worst of the heat.
Long term
- The Indira Gandhi Canal, 837 kilometres long, moves river water permanently into the desert.
- The Desert Development Programme funds tree planting and sand dune stabilisation on degraded land.
- India has invested in huge renewable projects such as Bhadla Solar Park to use the desert's sunshine.
- Forestry schemes plant drought tolerant trees such as Prosopis cineraria to hold soils together.
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