This included an unusually large number of extreme dry and wet seasons (Bradley and Jones 1996). The cases of forest fires increase during droughts and this puts the wildlife population at high risk. Many parts have even witnessed famine leading to the death of several people due to starvation. A conclusion on which subareas of the basin are more prone to droughts is difficult to make. Droughts also bring increased problems with insects and diseases to forests and reduce growth. In human welfare terms, drought effects are shaped by the geophysical, agronomic, social, economic, and political features of a given context. State park rangers burned weeds on the exposed lakebed of the Rye Patch Reservoir in Nevada, which was at 3.5% capacity amid a drought that has caused the worst water shortage the region has faced in more than a century. Drought is one of the greatest threats to humanity caused by climate change, and its impact is global (Pearce, 2015). From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. Many countries have started their efforts by turning arid lands into forested by planting trees and saplings. Winters became more severe at the end of the sixteenth century, in particular from 1620 to 1680 and in the first half of the nineteenth century. Drought hazards differ from other natural hazards in three ways: A drought’s onset and conclusion are difficult to determine because the effects accumulate slowly and may linger even after the apparent termination of an episode.

Geography Jane A. Bullock, ... Damon P. Coppola, in Introduction to Homeland Security (Fourth Edition), 2013. Due to excessive deforestation, the soil is more vulnerable to erosion by wind and water because there are no trees to cover it.

The Southwest region saw a sustained severe drought between 2011 and 2016 (see Fig.

Hydrogen sulfide gas produced by decaying organic matter was also released, resulting in a rotten-egg smell that was experienced up to 130 miles away in urban centers like Los Angeles. Some of the indirect impacts of drought can affect a wider range of businesses beyond those that rely on forests, streams, and lakes, according to the Drought Mitigation Center at UNL: Many economic impacts occur in agriculture and related sectors, including forestry and fisheries, because of the reliance of these sectors on surface and subsurface water supplies. Drought is caused due to various factors such as deforestation, global warming and inadequate surface water and has severe impact on the lives of the people living in the affected areas as well as the general health of the environment. In this case the mild drought was ignored since this drought is close to the normal condition Table 27.1).

google_ad_client = "ca-pub-6070398767421094"; Drought is a difficult situation to deal with especially if the severity is high. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book. Rivers and lakes are the main sources of surface water in various regions around the world. Extreme weather such as heat waves, heavy downpours and droughts are expected to accompanying climate change. Drought is fundamentally a weather event characterized by below normal precipitation, but its human impacts are much more complex and nuanced than this simple climatic definition might suggest. rain and snow in precipitation measurements, large-scale high-pressure patterns persist, increased frequency and severity of droughts, Find out whether drought is affecting your area, list of counties currently affected by drought, Reducing Poverty, Protecting Livelihoods and Building Assets in a Changing Climate Social Implications of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, Ancient Siberian grave holds 'warrior woman' and huge weapons stash, Snakes disembowel toads and feast on the living animal's organs one by one, These could be the funniest animal pictures ever, AI 'resurrects' 54 Roman emperors, in stunningly lifelike images, Antarctica could melt 'irreversibly' due to climate change, study warns, Stone Age dog may have been buried with its master, abnormally dry (category D0, corresponding to a PDSI between -1.0 and 1.9), moderate drought (D1, PDSI between -2.0 and -2.9), severe drought (D2, PDSI between -3.0 and -3.9), extreme drought (D3, PDSI between -4.0 and -4.9), exceptional drought (D4, PDSI between -5.0 and -5.9), Get more drought information at the National Weather Service's. Not only did it affect drinking water, intensify fire danger, and increase local unemployment, it also reduced food supplies for other US states and other countries. Drought does, however, impact food and other crops, and can severely hamper commerce on major rivers. Nowadays, many farmers use organic wastes from supermarkets to mix with the soil so that the crops can thrive in it without needing frequent water. Recent research indicates this has begun happening. Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available. Registered Data Controller No: Z1821391. This article focuses on three impacts of drought: economic, environmental and social as well as some solutions and with a conclusion. It takes a lot of time for some areas to regain the ability to yield crops. Both these are a cause of low rainfall. Here is a look at some of the other regions in the country that face frequent drought: This is the technique of collecting and storing rainwater in tanks and natural reservoirs to use it later. Rainwater harvesting is a great way to combat drought and is now encouraged among farmers and herders to provide their agriculture with water in times of drought. When the drought occurs, their habitat is seriously threatened and the food supply is reduced, resulting in the death of a large number of animals and plants. 2.8). Drought produces a complex web of impacts that spans many sectors of the economy and reaches well beyond the area experiencing physical drought. For example, the habitat of wild animals may be extinct due to the loss of wetlands, lakes, and vegetation.

Drought is a condition, not a hypothesis.

The incidence of forest and range fires increases substantially during extended droughts, which in turn places both human and wildlife populations at higher levels of risk (National Drought Mitigation Center, 2013). The crops in the drought hit areas do not yield and the farmers whose sole income is generated through farming are worst affected by this situation. Many important recommendations have been made to prevent and resolve droughts. Between 1980 and 2014, 16 drought events cost a combined $210 billion in the United States, and thousands of people died due to the effects of drought, according to NOAA.

According to the National Climatic Data Center, the drought affected almost the entire Plains region and covered more than 60 percent of the country at its peak in July 1934. Study for free with our range of university lectures! There was a problem. Rainwater harvesting has seen major growth in recent years and this is something everyone should adopt. Drought means the acute dryness resulting from the failure of rain.

ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128030646000020, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128044650000030, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124158023000038, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128003473000224, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124105263000040, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128022047000074, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767026644, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780444527394500152, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780120885541500256, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning for IT Professionals (Second Edition), 2014, Natural and Technological Hazards and Risk Assessment, George D. Haddow, ... Damon P. Coppola, in, Introduction to Emergency Management (Sixth Edition), Jane A. Bullock, ... Damon P. Coppola, in, Introduction to Homeland Security (Fourth Edition), http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/expert_assessment/drought_assessment.shtml, Bundling Drought Tolerance and Index Insurance to Reduce Rural Household Vulnerability to Drought, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning for IT Professionals (Second Edition), Applying the Brakes: Factors That Limit Growth, mid and western United States, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Southeastern China, Iraq, and Kenya where, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, MAM and Other “Lesion” Models of Developmental Epilepsy, GIORGIO BATTAGLIA, STEFANIA BASSANINI, in, Since the Cycad plants are able to withstand.
From the preceding findings, we drew the following conclusions: The United States would benefit from development of national drought policy with preparedness as its core. Drought is defined as a prolonged shortage of available water, primarily due to insufficient rain and other precipitation or because exceptionally high temperatures and low humidity cause a drying of agriculture and a loss of stored water resources. Thank you for signing up to Live Science. Stay up to date on the coronavirus outbreak by signing up to our newsletter today. A post graduate in English Literature, writing comes naturally to her and she is doing what she does best - writing and editing. Examples of this kind of drought include too much irrigation or when low river flow forces hydroelectric power plant operators to reduce energy production.

Economically, the impact of the drought is on personal or corporate property. A drought’s onset and conclusion are difficult to determine because the effects accumulate slowly and may linger even after the apparent termination of an episode. This situation occurs when there is a decrease in the availability of food and loss of income due to the failure of crop and the social security and access to food for the people in such areas is at risk. While the occurrence of drought is a natural phenomenon, we can certainly reduce the human activities that lead to such a situation. Aside from the human population explosion, global warming also fuels the increased frequency and severity of droughts in many parts of the globe, now and in future. In the past, However, we humans have the ability to think and use our skills to, This requires a significant amount of fossil fuels to produce heat. The situation is problematic and can prove to be fatal for those living in the drought-affected areas. /* India Celebrating_300*250_New */ Sea water desalination must be done so that the vast amount of water stored in the sea can be used for the purpose of irrigation and other agricultural activities. The six decades from 1770 to 1830 were warm, and droughts were frequent from 1801 to 1860. Damaged crops and energy shortages boosted their living expenses (Zhang, 2012).
Drought can lead to the ground drying up, and can also reduce the volume of water in rivers, lakes and subterranean reservoirs. Reference this. An avid reader, a fashion junkie, nature lover, adventure freak and a travel enthusiast are some of the other terms that describe her. Here is a look at the different types of droughts: When there is a reduction in rainfall in a region for a particular period – it can be for few days, months, seasons or year – it is said to be hit by meteorological drought.