Climate Change Impacts on Agriculture for Dhule District, in Maharashtra

This paper assesses observed and projected climate-change-related impacts on agriculture in Dhule district (north Maharashtra), synthesizes local evidence on rainfall variability, groundwater trends, crop vulnerability, and livelihood implications, and proposes prioritized adaptation pathways for farmers, local government and NGOs. Using a mixed-methods literature synthesis (local studies, district reports, IMD gridded products, groundwater surveys, and recent news on crop damages), we find that increasing rainfall variability, recurring drought episodes, declining groundwater in parts of the district, and more frequent extreme weather events are already destabilizing crop yields and smallholder incomes. Priority adaptation actions include integrated watershed recharge, diversification to drought-tolerant crops and millets, expansion of micro-irrigation, improved climate services and reforms to insurance/credit delivery. Key evidence sources include district agricultural profiles, IMD gridded rainfall datasets and local studies of Dhule’s agricultural-climate linkages.