Long-term (1870–2018) drought reconstruction in context of surface water security in India

Droughts in India affect food production, gross domestic product (GDP), livelihood, and socio-economic condition of a large population associated with agriculture. Recent drought (2015–2018) caused groundwater depletion and affected about one-fourth of the Indian population. However, it remains unclear if the drought of 2015–2018 was among the most severe droughts that occurred in India. Here we use a long-term (1870–2018) data to identify the...