Hot desert: Thar desert India

• The Thar is one of the major hot deserts in the world, stretching across northern India and into Pakistan and covering 200,000km2 mainly in India.
• The Thar is the most densely populated desert in the world.
• The Thar has reserves of Gypsum and limestone in Quarries near Jaisalmer and Stone and Marble at Jodphur, which are used in India and exported globally for the building trade.
• Tourists come from India and Pakistan to Jaisalmer fort, for the desert festival and to partake in camel safaris, providing direct and indirect jobs for locals.
• The Thar has extensive coal deposits and a thermal energy plant at Giral.
• The Jaisalmer wind park was built in 2001 and is India’s largest wind farm.
• At Bhalari, solar power is used at water treatment plants.
• Subsistence farming and nomadic herding are common in the Thar.
• Commercial farming of wheat and cotton is possible thanks to irrigation from the Indira Ghandi canal.
• Extreme temperatures in the Thar make it difficult to work and increase the risk of dehydration.
• The large diurnal range in the Thar makes it difficult for people to adapt.
• High evaporation in the Thar leaves soil at risk of salinization as salts are drawn up through the soil.
• Low precipitation and high evaporation in the Thar result in little water.
• Drinking water and water for irrigation in the Thar require careful management.
• Roads in the Thar are difficult to build and often covered by shifting sands.
• Extreme temperatures in the Thar cause tarmac to melt.
• Locals often resort to using camels for transport in the Thar.
• Tree planting, as part of Africa’s great green wall, can bind the soil together, provide shade, reduce evaporation, store water, and provide income through harvesting Gum Arabic used in food industries.
• ‘Magic Stones’, such as Stone lines in Burkino Faso, can reduce soil erosion by trapping water and soil, allowing for infiltration of water and fertile soil to be retained.