{"id":75446,"date":"2026-06-01T20:23:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=75446"},"modified":"2026-06-01T20:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:55:57","slug":"aravallis-desertification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-06-2026\/aravallis-desertification","title":{"rendered":"The Aravallis as a Natural Shield Against Desertification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3: Environment and Ecology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A recent dust storm in Rajasthan&#8217;s regions highlighted the<strong> crucial ecological role of the Aravalli Range<\/strong> in shielding northern India from dust storms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dust Storms&nbsp; in Northwestern India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dust storms frequently occur in northwestern India during the pre-monsoon months of April to June.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intense heating of the land surface<\/strong> creates dry and unstable atmospheric conditions that <strong>favor the formation of dust storms.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strong <strong>south-westerly and westerly winds<\/strong> transport large quantities of dust from the Thar Desert and adjoining regions towards northern India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Do the Aravallis Protect Northern India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Aravalli Range, stretching over approximately<strong> 692 kilometres (430 miles)<\/strong> in a northeastern direction, traverses the Indian states of<strong> Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana<\/strong> before culminating in <strong>Delhi<\/strong>, is the oldest mountain range in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rajasthan<\/strong> accounts for nearly <strong>two-thirds<\/strong> of the mountain range.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Aravallis support water-recharge systems and are the source of rivers such as the<strong> Sabarmati and Luni.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The region is <strong>rich in minerals<\/strong> including sandstone, limestone, marble, granite, lead, zinc, copper, gold, and tungsten.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Significance:<\/strong> The Aravalli Range acts as a <strong>natural barrier<\/strong> between the Thar Desert and the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dust-laden winds lose their speed when they <strong>encounter the Aravalli hills,<\/strong> causing sand and dust particles to settle on the western slopes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>presence of forests and vegetation <\/strong>further reduces the movement of dust by trapping airborne particles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The range helps <strong>prevent the eastward expansion of desert conditions<\/strong> and protects agricultural and urban regions from excessive dust deposition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Is Causing the Degradation of the Aravallis?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Extensive mining<\/strong> of granite, red silica, marble, and other minerals has damaged hills and natural landscapes across the range.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Removal of forests and natural vegetation<\/strong> has reduced the capacity of the Aravallis to trap dust and stabilize soils.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conversion of forest and grazing lands<\/strong> into settlements and agricultural areas has weakened ecological resilience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Aravalli Green Wall Initiative<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2025, the Union Government launched the Aravalli \u2018Green Wall\u2019 project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The initiative aims to expand green cover in a <strong>five-kilometre buffer <\/strong>around the Aravalli range.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It covers<strong> 29 districts<\/strong> across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project seeks to restore <strong>26 million hectares<\/strong> of degraded land by 2030 and strengthen ecological resilience against desertification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-climate\/churu-dust-storm-aravallis-shield-weakening-10717028\/lite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> A recent dust storm in Rajasthan&#8217;s regions highlighted the crucial ecological role of the Aravalli Range in shielding northern India from dust storms. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Dust Storms\u00a0 in Northwestern India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Dust storms frequently occur in northwestern India during the pre-monsoon months of April to June. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Intense heating of the land surface creates dry and unstable atmospheric conditions that favor the formation of dust storms. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Strong south-westerly and westerly winds transport large quantities of dust from the Thar Desert and adjoining regions towards northern India. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/01-06-2026\/aravallis-desertification \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75446"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75450,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75446\/revisions\/75450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}