Barmer District is a district in Rajasthan state of India. It is located in the western part of Rajasthan state forming a part of the Thar Desert. Barmer is the third largest district by area in Rajasthan and fifth largest district in India. Occupying an area of 28,387 km2. Being in the western part of the state, it includes a part of the Thar Desert. Jaisalmer is to the north of this district while Jalore is in its south. Pali and Jodhpur form its eastern border and it shares a border with Pakistan in the west. Partially being a desert, this district has a large variation in temperature. The temperature in summer can rise up to 51 °C and falls near to 0 °C in winter. Luni is the longest river in Barmer district. After travelling a length of almost 500 km, it passes through Jalore and merges in the marshy land of Runn of Kutch. District headquarters is in the town of Barmer. The other major towns in the district are: Balotra, Guda Malani, Baytoo, Siwana, and Chohatan. Recently, a large onshore oil field has been discovered and made functional in Barmer district.
In earlier times, the district was known as Malani, in the name of Rawal Mallinath (मल्लिनाथ). Rawal Mallinath was the son of Rao Salkha and Rawal Mallinath is cultural, philanthropical and religious icon in Barmer, He is worshiped as God by local peoples. The whole area around the river Luni was said to have Malani (मलानी), derived from the name Mallinath. Present name of Barmer is derived from its founder ruler Bahada Rao or Bar Rao Parmar (Juna Barmer), it was named Bahadamer (“The Hill Fort of Bahada”). He built a small town which is presently known as “Juna” which is 25 km from present city of Barmer. After Parmer’s, Rawat Luka -Grand Son of Rawal Mallinath, establish their kingdom in Juna Barmer with help of his brother Rawal Mandalak. They defeated Parmers of Juna & made it their capital. Thereafter, his descendant, Rawat Bhima, who was a great warrior, established the present city of Barmer in 1552 AD and shifted his capital to Barmer from Juna. .
Geography
Barmer is located in the western part of the state forming a part of the Thar Desert. The district borders Jaisalmer district in the north, Jalore district in the south, Pali district and Jodhpur district in the east, and Pakistan in the west. The district borders Tharpakar district of Sindh, the district with the largest population of Hindus in Pakistan.
The total area of the district is 28,387 square kilometres (10,960 sq mi). After Jaisalmer district and Bikaner district, it is the third largest district of Rajasthan. It is also the fifth largest district in the country.
The district is located between 24,58′ to 26, 32’N Latitudes and 70, 05′ to 72, 52′ E Longitudes.
The longest river in the district is the Luni. It is 480 km in length and drain into the Gulf of Kutch passing through Jalore. The variation in temperature in various seasons is quite high owing to arid thar desert and sandy soil. In summers the temperature soars to 46 °C to 51 °C. In winters it drops to 0 °C (41 °F). Primarily Barmer district is a desert where average rainfall in a year is 277 mm. However, extreme rainfall of 549 mm rain between 16 and 25 August 2006 left many dead and huge losses due to flood in a nearby town Kawas and whole town submerged. As many as twenty new lakes formed, with six covering an area of over 10 km2.
Poorly planned and rapid urbanisation has increased Barmer’s vulnerability to flash flooding. The local ecology and soil type is not equipped to deal with sudden or excessive water accumulation, which causes short- and long-term damage. Other areas suffer the gradual effects of ‘invisible disasters’, which also threaten the lives and livelihoods of the locals.
Climate
| hideClimate data for Barmer (1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.6 (97.9) |
39.4 (102.9) |
43.3 (109.9) |
48.3 (118.9) |
49.9 (121.8) |
48.7 (119.7) |
45.5 (113.9) |
43.7 (110.7) |
45.9 (114.6) |
43.1 (109.6) |
39.4 (102.9) |
35.2 (95.4) |
49.9 (121.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30.5 (86.9) |
34.5 (94.1) |
39.8 (103.6) |
44.0 (111.2) |
45.9 (114.6) |
44.9 (112.8) |
41.6 (106.9) |
38.8 (101.8) |
40.3 (104.5) |
40.2 (104.4) |
36.1 (97.0) |
31.6 (88.9) |
46.4 (115.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
8.2 (46.8) |
13.3 (55.9) |
18.6 (65.5) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.4 (74.1) |
22.6 (72.7) |
17.6 (63.7) |
11.4 (52.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
5.3 (41.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1.7 (28.9) |
3.8 (38.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
16.7 (62.1) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
16.7 (62.1) |
13.9 (57.0) |
6.7 (44.1) |
2.3 (36.1) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 1.3 (0.05) |
2.4 (0.09) |
1.8 (0.07) |
2.8 (0.11) |
9.8 (0.39) |
25.8 (1.02) |
90.1 (3.55) |
103.0 (4.06) |
33.2 (1.31) |
3.8 (0.15) |
1.2 (0.05) |
0.5 (0.02) |
275.8 (10.86) |
| Average rainy days | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 14.7 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 30 | 25 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 33 | 48 | 54 | 43 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department | |||||||||||||
Economy
In 2016 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Barmer one of the country’s 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the twelve districts in Rajasthan currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 313,102 | — |
| 1911 | 299,518 | −0.44% |
| 1921 | 281,438 | −0.62% |
| 1931 | 308,264 | +0.91% |
| 1941 | 394,529 | +2.50% |
| 1951 | 477,282 | +1.92% |
| 1961 | 649,794 | +3.13% |
| 1971 | 774,805 | +1.78% |
| 1981 | 1,118,892 | +3.74% |