Tamil Nadu among pronounced drought hotspots as South Peninsular India sees strongest drought trend: study

Tamil Nadu is among the more pronounced drought hotspots in India, as a new 52-year analysis has found that South Peninsular India, the region that includes Tamil Nadu, recorded the strongest long-term increase in drought-affected area among the four broad climatic regions of the country.

The study, ‘Evolution of Climate Extremes Over the Indian Subcontinent Using a Revised CEI’, published in the International Journal of Climatology, analysed daily rainfall and temperature data from 1971 to 2022 to assess changes in multiple climate extremes. The researchers developed a revised India Climate Extremes Index (IndCEI) combining seven indicators, including heat, drought, dry spells, and heavy rainfall.