Climate change will increase the frequency of flash droughts in India in the future, which will have a negative impact on crop production, irrigation demands, and groundwater abstraction, says a study by researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar.

They said in contrast to the conventional droughts, flash droughts can impact a large region within two-three weeks, severely affecting crop health and irrigation water demands. The team said the worst flash drought in the observed timeframe from 1951-2016 occurred in 1979, when over 40 per cent of the country was affected.