Farmers in Rajasthan's desert districts are grappling with rising humidity, making the heat harder to endure and affecting crop yields. Increased irrigation and climate change are driving this shift, leading to higher pest infestations and farming costs. The changing weather patterns are also impacting human health, particularly among vulnerable groups like the elderly and pregnant women.
This article was originally published in 101Reporters under Creative Common license. Read the original article.
For Bhanwarlal Sharma (65), the heat of Hanumangarh's summers is nothing new. He has spent decades farming in the desert district of Rajasthan through the fierce sun and loo, the hot, dry wind that blows in May and June.
What has changed, he told 101Reporters, is what happens when he works in it.
“Heat and loo were always here, but now the humidity is felt a lot more,” said Bhanwarlal, who lives in Pallu village. “Working in the field, the body is drenched in sweat. Earlier, sitting under a tree gave relief in a short while. Now there’s no such relief.”
The change has meant spending less time in the fields.
Farmers in Hanumangarh and neighbouring Sriganganagar said the heat of recent years has become more humid, making it harder to work outdoors and affecting their crops.
Weather data suggests that the air during the hot months has indeed become considerably more humid.
Data available on Mausam Sankalp for 1995 to 2024 shows that the decade-wise average of minimum relative humidity from March to June was about 19% between 1995 and 2004. It rose to about 22% between 2005 and 2014 and reached about 36% between 2015 and 2024 — nearly 90% higher than in the first decade.
The change is particularly stark in some individual months. In May 1995, minimum relative humidity was 8.86%, compared with 52.71% in May 2024 — nearly six times as high. In June, it rose from 17.19% in 1995 to 42.41% in 2024, about two-and-a-half times as high. Hanumangarh's full-year average relative humidity increased from 70.14% in 1995 to 80.84% in 2024, a rise of about 15%.
Rainfall, however, has not followed a simple upward or downward trend. Annual rainfall has fluctuated considerably, from 159.53 mm in 2000 to 372.27 mm in 2010, 321.18 mm in 2020 and 436.76 mm in 2024.
At the same time, average wind speeds have declined. The annual average fell from 9.72 km per hour in 1995 to 9.18 km per hour in 2024. Between May and September, it declined from 11.01 km per hour to 10.11 km per hour.
Together, these changes suggest that the conditions accompanying the region’s heat are shifting.
Radheshyam Sharma, director of the Meteorological Centre in Jaipur, said the changing conditions are linked to several factors rather than a single cause.
“In Rajasthan's desert region, rainfall is increasing along with temperature,” he said. “Temperatures are rising during the pre-monsoon and monsoon, and temperature and atmospheric moisture are linked to each other.”
As temperatures rise, the atmosphere can hold more water vapour. Sharma said a rise of 1 degree Celsius in air temperature increases its capacity to hold water vapour by about 6% to 8%. When temperature and rainfall rise together, atmospheric moisture can therefore increase.
Climate change and global warming are part of this shift, Sharma said, but local changes matter too. Irrigation has expanded, the area under cultivation has grown and technologies such as sprinklers have become more common. Changes in vegetation and green cover, as well as wind patterns, can also affect local moisture conditions.
The expansion of irrigation has been substantial. In Hanumangarh, the gross irrigated area increased from 6.61 lakh hectares in 2010-11 to 8.72 lakh hectares in 2024-25, an increase of about 32%. In Sriganganagar, it rose from 8.60 lakh hectares to 12.17 lakh hectares over the same period, an increase of about 41.5%, according to data on irrigated area and Rajasthan government agricultural statistics.
Sharma said the expansion of farming and irrigation can add moisture to the local atmosphere. In the past two decades, areas that were relatively dry have also come under cultivation, changing the region's vegetation and green cover.
An India Meteorological Department study, based on data from 215 weather stations between 1969 and 2007, also found signs of rising surface humidity in many parts of India. The trend was relatively consistent in north and north-west India, and the study examined the relationship between rising summer humidity and human discomfort.
Rakesh Bhambhu (70), a farmer from Raisinghnagar in Sriganganagar, said heat has been accompanied by more humidity for the past five or six years. He grows cotton, moong, sesame, bajra and guar, and said pest damage has increased.
“Rain also doesn't always come on time now, and temperatures stay high,” he said. “About two decades ago, dust storms and strong winds used to blow; now there seems to be less wind. The storms have simply vanished.”
Dr Roop Singh Meena, an entomologist at the Agricultural Research Station in Sriganganagar, said moist and humid conditions favour sap-sucking pests such as whitefly, jassid, thrips and aphids in crops including cotton, guar and moong. Pink bollworm has also been seen in cotton for many years.
For Sushil Bishnoi, a farmer from Bhagatpura village in Hanumangarh, the increase in pests has meant higher costs.
“When humidity and moisture stay high, pests multiply in the crops,” he said. “Farmers have to spray pesticide again and again. This raises the cost of farming.”
VS Nain, a retired joint director of the Agriculture Department in Sriganganagar, said humidity was earlier mainly felt in July and August. Over the past five to seven years, he said, it has begun in May and lasted until October, with relief coming only in November.
Higher humidity also makes it harder for the body to cool itself.
A 2026 study found that potential productivity loss worldwide from humid heat stress has risen sharply since the mid-1980s, with India accounting for more than half of the increase. The researchers said humid heat stress in the Asian monsoon region had crossed an important threshold.
When humidity rises, sweat evaporates less effectively, making it harder for the body to cool itself. Climate Central's Climate Shift Index: Humid Heat, launched in 2026, measures the influence of climate change on daily humid heat and related health risks.
In Hanumangarh, Dr Paras Jain, an 80-year-old consultant physician, said the effects are particularly concerning for older people.
“In high humidity, the body continuously loses fluid as sweat,” he said. People sitting in air-conditioned rooms may also drink less water without realising how much fluid they are losing. This can lead to dehydration, while sodium and potassium levels can also fall.
Jain said he has recently seen elderly patients who were confused and had sodium-potassium imbalances. Their condition improved after the electrolyte imbalance was corrected. He also said complaints such as eczema and itching can increase in humid conditions, and that people above 60-65 years, pregnant women and people with severe obesity may be more vulnerable.
[WC/GS]
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