Social vulnerability to drought: A spatiotemporal assessment in purulia district, West Bengal, India

The interplay between climate change, drought, and socioeconomic development has significantly altered the hazards, vulnerability, and risk of drought within the global socioeconomic system. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of how these changes will manifest at the local level in an increasingly globalized economy under the effects of global warming. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study employs a variety of climatic, demographic, and socioeconomic data to map and assess the social vulnerability to drought in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India. Eleven socioeconomic indicators were utilized to construct a social vulnerability index using an inductive approach. Rainfall anomalies and standardized precipitation indices were employed to evaluate drought conditions, while crop yield data helped to spatially construct a crop failure index. The study reveals that the frequency and intensity of drought have increased in the district since 2000, leading to significant reductions in crop yield and failures. The social vulnerability index results indicate that 14 out of twenty drought-prone sub-districts are also socioeconomically marginalized. Factors such as inadequate irrigation, illiteracy, heavy reliance on agriculture, a high number of non-workers, and limited access to resources contribute to the high social vulnerability to drought in the Purulia sub-districts. This study can assist decision-makers in developing targeted adaptation and mitigation strategies for these vulnerable populations.