Thar Desert (Rich Hot Desert) - Case Study

The Thar desert is on the border of North West India and Pakistan. The Thar desert is one of the major hot deserts of the world. Rainfall in the desert low and summer temperatures can reach 53 degrees centigrade. Much of the desert is sandy hills with extensive mobile sand dunesand clumps of thorn forest vegetation. The soils are generally sandy and infertil. They drain quickly so there is little surface water.

Problems of an increasing population:

• The Thar desert is the most densely populated desert in the world and the population is increasing. This is putting pressure on the fragile ecosystem and leading to overgrazing and over cultivation.
• Too much irrigation in some places has lead to salinisation. In other places…