Assessment of drought impacts on crop yields across Nepal during 1987–2017

Hamal, Kalpana; Sharma, Shankar; Khadka, Nitesh; Haile, Gebremedhin Gebremeskel; Joshi, Bharat Badayar; Xu, Tianli; Dawadi, Binod

doi:10.1002/met.1950

Cited by 46 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…No continuous drought has been observed (Kafle, 2015) On average, the intensity of drought is high in higher mountains (Baidya et al, 2008;Shrestha, 2000) as low precipitation is observed in western high-mountain areas (Kansakar et al, 2004). Also, the occurrence of winter drought has increased from 2015 onwards (Hamal et al, 2020) as predicted (Baniya et al,2019).…”

Section: Seasonal Drought Frequencymentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Among all the provinces, Karnali ranks first in the production of barley (GoN/MoF, 2019). Karnali Province faces a higher probability of drought spells that can last from few months of a season to droughts lasting a year (Hamal et al, 2020). Furthermore, the study area ( Fig.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The frequency and intensity of drought events experienced in Karnali Province have negative consequences for soil properties, agricultural practices (Bhandari & Kayastha, 2010;Bhandari & Panthi, 2014), livestock production (Dahal et al, 2016b), socio-economic patterns, and the psychological wellbeing of the people living in that area (Ghimire et al, 2010;Hallegatte et al, 2016;Khatiwada & Pandey, 2019;Passioura, 2007). Various drought studies and impacts on other cereal crops (rice, maize, wheat) show a more negative effect due to drought severity (Hamal et al, 2020;Khatiwada & Pandey., 2019). As a result, cultivation of drought tolerant crop should be encouraged in such area where extreme drought occurs.…”

Section: Impact Of Drought On Cereal Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nepal, with its complex topography, drought stands as one of the natural hazards with significant impact in various aspect (Dai, 2013b). The drought is already visible in the past (Dhaubanjar et al, 2019;Ghimire et al, 2010;Hamal et al, 2020;Karki et al, 2020;Shrestha et al, 1999;Shrestha et al, 2017) and is projected to increase in the future (Dahal et al, 2016a;Hamal et al, 2020). Also, significant warming over the country is observed in recent years (Karki et al, 2020;Khatiwada et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But due to the lack of drought assessment (Manning & Clayton, 2018), it has created difficulties in resource conservation and adaptation strategies in geologically challenging terrain. Although some studies have been done based on the assessment of drought and agricultural impacts (Hamal et al, 2020;Khatiwada & Pandey, 2019), sitebased research at a provincial level with implications for drought-tolerant crops is still lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought assessment on barley and millet production in Karnali Province, Nepal

2020

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Spatio-temporal characteristics of agricultural drought and its impact on the yield of winter barley and summer millet crops in Karnali Province of Nepal were evaluated. For this purpose, precipitation data from 1988 to 2018 of 18 stations and agricultural data from 2003 to 2018 were used for the analysis. Standardized Precipitation Indices (SPI-3 and SPI-4) were used for measuring drought intensity. Based on drought intensity, SPI<-1 was considered for drought occurrence. Similarly, Standardized Residual Yield Series (SYRS) was also calculated for crop yield change, eliminating other factors responsible for crop yield. The result shows that Salyan, Surkhet, and Jumla districts have more occurrence of summer and winter drought in comparison to other districts. Similarly, 1999, 2002, 2004-05, 2008-09, 2012, and 2015 were considered as drought years in most stations. Moreover, the province experienced more winter drought events than summer and winter droughts are increasing after 2015. Concerning the impact of drought occurrence on cereal yield loss, barley seems to be more affected. SPI-3 and SYRS (barley) are significantly correlated in Jumla, Humla, Mugu, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Surkhet, and Salyan districts at 95% confidence. With the exception, drought occurrence has a larger impact on barley yield loss than drought severity in the study area. However, millet yield loss doesn't seem to be affected due to drought occurrence and intensity in all districts except Rukum, as millet is a drought-tolerant crop. Therefore, for sustainable agriculture practices, drought-tolerant crops like millet could be suitable in Karnali Province, where drought frequency is very high.

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Section: Seasonal Drought Frequencymentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Of Drought On Cereal Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought assessment on barley and millet production in Karnali Province, Nepal

2020

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Drought characteristics over Nepal Himalaya and their relationship with climatic indices

Sharma

Hamal

Khadka

et al. 2021

Meteorological Applications

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Understanding drought characteristics is vital for sustainable societal and ecosystem functioning, especially in ongoing climate change. The study investigates the drought characteristics over the Nepal Himalaya using the standardized precipitation index (SPI) based on monthly precipitation data from 220 ground stations between 1980 and 2016 at seasonal and annual timescales. The results show that occurrences of drought are more frequent after the 2000s, intensifying their severity and duration. The cumulative probabilities of short-term (SPI3) and long-term (SPI12) drought during the period 1980-2016 were 17.1% and 23.5%, respectively. The short-term drought over Nepal occurred with an average duration of 2.8 months and a severity of −4.3, whereas for long-term drought the duration and severity were 8.6 months and −13.9, respectively. Meanwhile, the seasonal drought shows that the spring and autumn drought events were slightly higher than summer and winter drought. The wavelet power spectrum shows the variability signals of winter, spring and summer drought were 2-8 and 8-16 years; however, the autumn drought index only varied at 2-8 years. The NINO3.4 is the primary controlling mode of variability for summer and annual drought, whereas the dipole moment index (DMI) is used for the autumn drought at an interannual timescale. The decadal variability of summer and annual drought is linked with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, whereas winter and spring drought are linked to the Arctic Oscillation. Furthermore, the study contributes to the understanding of the drought characteristics and its controlling factors of variability over Nepal.

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How resilient are waterways of the Asian Himalayas? Finding adaptive measures for future sustainability

et al. 2023

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The high‐mountain system, a storehouse of major waterways that support important ecosystem services to about 1.5 billion people in the Himalaya, is facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change during the 21st century. Intensified floods, accelerating glacial retreat, rapid permafrost degradation, and prolonged droughts are altering the natural hydrological balances and generating unpredictable spatial and temporal distributions of water availability. Anthropogenic activities are adding further pressure onto Himalayan waterways. The fundamental question of waterway management in this region is therefore how this hydro‐meteorological transformation, caused by climate change and anthropogenic perturbations, can be tackled to find avenues for sustainability. This requires a framework that can diagnose threats at a range of spatial and temporal scales and provide recommendations for strong adaptive measures for sustainable future waterways. This focus paper assesses the current literature base to bring together our understanding of how recent climatic changes have threatened waterways in the Asian Himalayas, how society has been responding to rapidly changing waterway conditions, and what adaptive options are available for the region. The study finds that Himalayan waterways are crucial in protecting nature and society. The implementation of integrated waterways management measures, the rapid advancement of waterway infrastructure technologies, and the improved governance of waterways are more critical than ever.This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

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Assessment of drought impacts on crop yields across Nepal during 1987–2017

Cited by 46 publications

References 74 publications

Drought assessment on barley and millet production in Karnali Province, Nepal

Drought assessment on barley and millet production in Karnali Province, Nepal

Drought characteristics over Nepal Himalaya and their relationship with climatic indices

How resilient are waterways of the Asian Himalayas? Finding adaptive measures for future sustainability

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