Rainfall

The rainfall in the district increases from the southwest toward the northeast. About 70% of the rainfall is received during the period of July through September. The rainfall between December and March accounts for 16% of the rainfall the remaining 14% rainfall is received in the other months of the year.

Rivers and drains

The Sutlej

Sutlej

The Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Sulaiman Range in Pakistan.The Sutlej...

 and its tributary, the Buddha Nala

Buddha Nullah

Buddha Nullah or Buddha Nala is a seasonal water stream, which runs through the Malwa region of Punjab, India, and after passing through highly populated Ludhiana district, Punjab, India, it drains into Sutlej River, a tributary of the Indus river...

, constitute the chief hydrographic features of the district. A brief description of these is as follows.

Sutlej River: originates from Mansarovar Lake in Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. After flowing through Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

, it debouches from the Shivaliks. Just about Rupnagar

Rupnagar

Rupnagar is a city and a municipal council in Rupnagar district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was formerly known as Ropar. The town of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. It is also the site of...

, 32 km east of the boundary of Samrala

Samrala

Samrala is a city and a municipal council in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is about 35 km east of the district headquarters Ludhiana, on the highway to Chandigarh. Samrala is a Class III Municipality.-Geography:...

 Tehsil

Tehsil

A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....

, it flows due west along the top of the district for 96 km and turns, as it leaves Jagraon

Jagraon

Jagraon is a city and a municipal council in the Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. Jagraon is more than three centuries old. It has been thought by some that the city's original name was Jagar aon, meaning A place of great flooding, although this flooding has since ceased...

 Tehsil, slightly north toward its junction with the Beas

Beas River

The Beas River is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab....

 at Harike. It maintains an east-west direction. It can be devastating during floods. The Sutlej has experienced a westward drift during recent times. Old towns and villages, such as Bahlulpur, Machhiwara

Machhiwara

Machhiwara is a village and a nagar panchayat in the Ludhiana district of the Indian state of Punjab. Machhiwara is famous for Gurudwara Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib named after the Guru's feet that are compared to the lotus flower...

, and Kum Kalan, were built on its banks. The river has since been dammed at Bhakhra, which has considerably checked its flooding menace in the district.

Buddha Nala: It runs parallel to the Satluj on its south for a fairly large section of its course in the district and ultimately joins the Satluj at Gorsian Kadar Baksh in the northwestern corner of the district. It floods during the rainy season, but in the dry season it can be crossed on foot at certain points. Ludhiana and Machhiwara are situated to the south of the Buddha Nala. The water of the stream is polluted after it enters Ludhiana City.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census

2011 census of India

The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings...

 Ludhiana district has a population

Demographics of India

The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...

 of 3,487,882, roughly equal to the nation of Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 or the US state of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. This gives it a ranking of 87th in India (out of a total of 640

Districts of India

A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...

). The district has a population density of 975 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate

Family planning in India

Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...

 over the decade 2001-2011 was 15 %. Ludhiana has a sex ratio

Sex ratio

Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....

 of 869 females

Women in India

The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful...

 for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate

Literacy in India

Literacy in India is key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and India currently has the...

of 82.5 %.