Chapter 3: Environment, Agriculture & Natural Resources¶
India's land, water, forests, weather, and agriculture — in data.
Why This Chapter?
India's environment is under stress — forests are shrinking, groundwater is depleting, monsoons are becoming erratic, and agricultural land is being converted to urban use. Understanding these changes requires good data. This chapter shows you where to find it.
Chapter Overview¶
| # | Dataset | Provider | Format | Access | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IMD Weather & Rainfall | IMD | NetCDF, CSV | 🟡 Login | 🟡 |
| 2 | Land Use Land Cover (LULC) | NRSC/Bhuvan | GeoTIFF, Shapefile | 🟡 Login | 🔵 |
| 3 | Forest Cover (FSI) | FSI/MoEFCC | Excel, PDF | 🟢 No Login | 🟢 |
| 4 | Crop Area & Production | DAC&FW | CSV, Excel | 🟢 No Login | 🟢 |
| 5 | Water Resources (WRIS) | CWC/NIH | WMS, Shapefile | 🟢 No Login | 🔵 |
| 6 | Groundwater (CGWB) | CGWB | PDF, Excel | 🟢 No Login | 🟢 |
Geographic Coverage¶
| Dataset | National | State | District | Block | Village | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMD Gridded Rainfall | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 0.25° |
| LULC Bhuvan | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 56m |
| FSI Forest Cover | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | 1ha |
| Crop Data | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | — |
| WRIS | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | — |
| CGWB | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | — |
The Power of Time-Series Environmental Data¶
Unlike socio-economic data (updated every 10 years for Census), environmental data is often available continuously over time. This enables trend analysis:
- IMD rainfall data goes back to 1901 — 120+ years of monsoon records
- LULC maps at 5-year intervals from 2005 to 2023
- Forest Survey every 2 years since 1987
- CGWB groundwater monitoring seasonally (pre/post-monsoon)
Time-Series Tip
When you have the same area measured multiple times, you can detect change. For example: compare LULC 2005 vs 2023 to see how much agricultural land became urban. Or compare IMD rainfall 1950–1980 vs 1990–2020 to detect shifting monsoon patterns.
Key Environmental Facts About India¶
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Forest Cover | 21.71% of India's area | FSI ISFR 2021 |
| Average Annual Rainfall | ~1,160 mm | IMD |
| Groundwater Over-exploited Blocks | 1,006 blocks | CGWB 2022 |
| Net Sown Area | ~141 million hectares | Agricultural Census |
| Irrigated Area | ~68 million hectares | DAC |
| Major River Basins | 26 | WRIS/CWC |
✏️ Chapter Exercise: Land Use Change Detection¶
Exercise 3.0 — Compare LULC 2005 vs 2023
Goal: Find out how your district's land use changed over 18 years.
Tools needed: QGIS (free download from qgis.org)
Steps: 1. Download LULC 2005 and LULC 2023 GeoTIFF for your state from Bhuvan (see LULC page) 2. Load both in QGIS → Clip to your district boundary (from GADM) 3. Use Raster → Raster Calculator to identify pixels that changed class 4. Calculate area of change using Raster → Zonal Statistics
Answer: - Has urban area increased? - Has agricultural land decreased? - Has forest cover increased or decreased?
Start with: IMD Weather & Rainfall →