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Essay on Drought | Drought Essay for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by sastry

Essay on Drought: India is situated in the Northern Hemisphere extending from 8° 4′ N to 37° 17′ N latitude. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country, thus the country falls into tropical as well as sub-tropical zones. The country gets two complete showers of seasonal rain, one during summer season called South-West monsoon and one in winters called the North-East monsoons.

The rest of the year is practically dry. The rain bearing winds are called monsoon winds which persistently flow in the same direction and get reversed only with the change of seasons.

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Long and Short Essays on Drought for Kids and Students in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Drought’ in both long and short form. The first essay is a long essay on Drought of 400-500 words. This long essay about Drought is suitable for students of class 7, 8, 9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants. The second essay is a short essay on Drought of 150-200 words. These are suitable for students and children in class 6 and below.

Long Essay on Drought 500 Words in English

Below we have given a long essay on Drought of 500 words is helpful for classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. This long essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 7 to class 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

The agriculture in India is largely dependent upon the monsoon rain shower during the months of June to the middle of September and a few parts of the country gets rains during the retreating monsoon from October to December. Tamil Nadu, South of Andhra Pradesh, South-East of Karnataka and Kerala get the maximum showers during the time, about 75 cm.

The occurrence and quality of monsoons depends upon the intensity of winds blowing over the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes, the country receives intense rainfall and there are times when the monsoon gets weak and there are scanty rains here and there.

Moreover, there is the problem of unequal distribution of rainfall over the country where the monsoon is extremely active whereas the same monsoon is barely active in other parts of the country. In other words, by the time it reaches the higher regions, the winds have shed most of their moisture already or they weaken so much that nothing is left in them in terms of momentum and so they shed their moisture on the way.

This uncertain and uncontrolled character of monsoons in India causes the problem of droughts at some places. Droughts occur when rainfall during a particular year fails to reach even the average or normal level expected of the place at that time of the year. Droughts usually occur in places which have a high variability between low and heavy amount of rainfall.

The greater the difference, more are the chances of droughts. Thus droughts in India occur mainly when South-West monsoon is weak and ineffective. A weak monsoon results in scanty or no rainfall; hence leading to droughts. Many a times droughts occur due to untimely arrival of monsoon-either it is too late or too early. In either case, agriculture is most severely affected. Prolonged breaks between consecutive spells of rain, too, aggravates the problem.

In India, on an average, a drought affects about 16% of the total agricultural land and about 50 million population. The areas that are regularly affected by droughts are those which receive an annual rainfall below 75 cm or have a high variability of 40 cm or more. There are about 99 districts which receive annual rains below 75 cm. A total of 68% of sown area is subject to drought in varying degrees.

But surprisingly the severest droughts have occurred in comparatively humid and wet areas such as West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. These regions usually get high rainfall but a slight failure of rainfall can cause severe droughts here simply because of high intensity of population and the near total dependence of agriculture on monsoon rains in these regions. A normal drought affects a huge part of the country’s population, hence making the drought into a severe one.

This leads to a vicious circle of misery, especially for that part of the population, which is practically hand to mouth. Even among these, the landless labourers are the ones who suffer the most because they are the first ones to lose their jobs due to failure of rains.

Less people are thus required to till the land and so they are the first ones to be pushed over the crevices of hunger, poverty, starvation and destitution. Lack of irrigation facilities and total dependence on monsoon rains leads to even more severe droughts in the remote parts of the country. Moreover, due to the ecological imbalance, the frequency of droughts is likely to increase.

The failure of rains in 2014, has led to the possibility of it being declared as a ‘drought year’. Till August, 2014, 36% of the nation’s meteorological regions faced moderate to severe drought. Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, India’s ‘grain’ bearer belt, is reeling under severe drought. As a result, farmers are paying sky-high prices to protect their paddy crop.

Hopefully, due to great technological advances, irrigation facilities and developments in the transport system, with even the remotest villages getting connected to nearby towns and cities, the intensity with which the droughts can affect human population, agriculture and cattle can be reduced to some extent. The governments now prefers to keep surplus stocks of food grains as well as fodder to combat such recurrent crisis with the support of voluntary organisations, NGOs etc.

NASA scientists, including one scientist of Indian origin have developed a new satellite to predict the severity of droughts and help farmers maximise crop yield. At present, there is no ground or satellite-based global network for monitoring soil moisture at a local scale. It would be of great help to developing countries like India, if this technology gets introduced soon.

Short Essay on Drought 200 Words in English

Below we have given a short essay on Drought is for Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. This short essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 6 and below.

The Government of India through Crisis Management Framework 2011, aims at identification of fundamental aspects of drought prone areas, phases of crisis, magnitude, outcome of crisis to trigger mechanism and strategic response matrix. The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), under ICAR has been assigned the task to prepare district-wise contingency plans in collaboration with State Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs).

The programme also works toward long-term goals such as maintenance of ecological balance by developing, conserving and even harvesting all kinds of resources including land, water, livestock and human resources. It also aims at minimising the adverse effects of droughts on crops and livestock through use of appropriate technology and the naturally available resources.

The recent initiatives by Government were special assistance package and higher seed subsidy. It is also planning to extend subsidy on diesel to areas where there has been less than 50% rainfall. In case, drought is declared by any state, the government has proposed a ₹ 700 crore scheme for cultivation of horticultural crops and ₹ 100 crore for fodder production. Agricultural crop insurance scheme is also in the pipeline. It’s high time that India implements robust drought mitigation measures. The entire burden or blame shouldn’t be put on the farmers. They must be protected and fully prepared for natural calamities. Their prosperity is nation’s progress.

Drought Essay Word Meanings for Simple Understanding

• Persistent – constantly repeated, continued
• Scanty – barely sufficient
• Momentum – force or speed of movement, impetus, as of a physical object or course of events
• Variability – apt or liable to vary or change; changeable
• Consecutive – following one another in uninterrupted succession or order, successive
• Vicious circle – a sequence of reciprocal cause and effect in which two or more elements
• Intensify and aggravate each other, leading to a worsening of the situation
• Crevices – a crack forming an opening
• Destitution – lack of the means of subsistence, utter poverty
• Matrix – the cultural, social, or political environment in which something develops
• Subsidy – a grant or contribution of money
• Mitigation – the act of making a condition or consequence less severe
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Essay on Drought

List of essays on drought, essay on drought – short essay for kids and children (essay 1 – 100 words), essay on drought – 10 lines on drought written in english (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on drought – causes, effects and measures (essay 3 – 350 words), essay on drought (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on drought  – in india (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on drought – for school students (class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 standard) (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on drought – for college and university students (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on drought – long essay on drought (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Drought is a disaster which affects many regions of India every year. A natural disaster which leads to a shortage of water for drinking, agriculture and other practices is called a drought. However, we are yet to come up with some concrete measure in order to avoid this adverse situation through which the people have to go through each year.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Standard) and college students.

Drought is a severe condition in which some regions face a heavy shortage of water. There are some countries which are nowadays struggling with an insufficient amount of water. This situation occurs due to factors like climate change, deforestation or global warming.

In some areas, starvation as a result of drought, leads to the death of several people. Drought also affect the production of crops, causes forest fires and leads to insufficient electricity production.

It is important to adopt some solutions to tackle this issue. We can use methods like rainwater harvesting, seawater desalination or grow more plants and trees. The whole world is familiar with the misuse of water resources which needs to be overcome in order to prevent droughts.

The prolonged absence of rain or the lack of natural sources of water can bring about a drought. This natural phenomenon has been occurring all through the history of mankind and it has shaped many civilizations in the past. Droughts are something that people fear and it is also something that can be brought about by our actions towards our surrounding. One is compelled by practical reason to consider what actions can bring about potentially cataclysmic events like droughts and since I am still a student there is a lot I can do, further on as I go through life, to contribute to reasonable water usage.

The earth has its own principle of functioning and it changes our surrounding often and without warning, that’s why droughts sometimes happen even though we do nothing, in particular, to make them come about. When such events occur, people use different techniques to find alternative sources of water. The best we can do in such situations is to find tools that we can use to help us predict what the movement of water will be, or how much rain will fall.

On the other hand, we tend to misuse our natural resources and to drain them. That is why the recent decades have seen many rivers dry out due to our extensive agricultural needs. The lack of water brought about droughts in many regions that were previously famed for their natural wealth. Thankfully, people are becoming aware of how they are behaving and through this awareness, we are developing new methods for water use and distribution, it is up to us to implement those changes and make fear of the great drought a thing of the past.

“Drought” which results from the shortage of water due to lack of rainfall. The situation is challenging and can prove to be catastrophic for those living in the drought-affected areas.

Causes of Drought:

The Marathwada region of Maharashtra suffers from “drought” condition every year. There are various factors responsible for causing a “drought” like situation.

Some of these are discussed below:

1. Deforestation:

The main cause of “drought” is deforestation, which leads to a shortage of rainfall. Trees and shrubs hold the ground water, prevent it from evaporation and attracts rainfall. Deforestation is carried out to clear the land for farming, industrialization and urbanization. The soil in these areas loses its capacity to hold water, which also leads to “drought” condition. The devastating flood in the beautiful state of Kerala has become one of the biggest catastrophe in recent times.

2. Diminishing Water Bodies:

The usage of water bodies like rivers and lakes is done on a huge scale. During scorching summers these rivers and lakes are dried which result in dreadful “droughts”. Due to extreme climatic condition and various human activities, the water in these water bodies dries down which leads to “drought”. Wells are also a main sources of water in various regions in the country. Villages and towns in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat are facing life threatening situation where water in the wells has dried up. People in these villages stand in long queues to purchase water for drinking and daily needs.

Effects of Drought:

The farming sector in India is the most vulnerable to the climatic condition. Most of the agriculture in India is dependent on rainfall and ground water. “Drought” like situation has tremendously affected the farming sector and animal husbandry in India. The scorching sun sucks the ground water and becomes fatal to the cattle.

Measures to Prevent Drought:

Droughts can be prevented by –

i. Planting more trees.

ii. Implementing water conservation techniques.

iii. Reducing wastage of water and water pollution.

Conclusion:

Although initiatives like the “Paani Foundation” are being taken to mitigate “drought” condition in India but not much is done till date. As a responsible citizen we must contribute to the efforts taken to combat “drought” condition so that our future generations will not face such crisis.

The problem of drought is very severe and there are plenty of different provinces in India which are being largely impacted. It is really important for people at large to understand that the time calls for taking some strict measures at the earliest.

We have exploited mother earth in a ruthless manner and owing to the anthropogenic exploitation; the natural balance of the ecosystem has been disturbed. This in turn has led to plenty of troubles which include drought.

Drought – Getting Familiar:

Drought mainly refers to the condition wherein the area receives almost negligible to nil rainfall making it a dry period. This can be really deadly for the farmers as most of the harvest won’t ripen and it has several adverse consequences. Granted there are artificial methods of irrigation and the option of water supply but not all farmers have access to these facilities. This infers that drought ends up wrecking havoc on their finances and the families of the farmers sometimes even end up committing suicide or dying because of starvation.

Remedial Measures:

This brings us to the question as to what can be done to remedy the situation of drought. The answerer lies in helping the environment. The environment has the power to heal itself, but we need to be supportive in our approach. It is extremely important to understand the grave concerns and the bleak future that awaits us.

Drought isn’t the only calamity which we are facing. The increased frequency of earthquakes, flash floods, depleting ice cover, striking change in climates are all symbolic of the piteous condition of our environment. Until and unless, we manage to educate the masses and enlighten them about the need to have a green cover and preserve the environment, the frequency of drought and other calamities will continue to be on the rise. More and more measures need to be taken and the ruthless exploitation of the environment needs to stop right away.

We know that it is easier said than done but the change needs to start from somewhere. You should make it a point to understand the possible areas wherein you can bring a change. Try by curtailing the cutting down of trees even if it is for development purpose. Use measures to combat pollution and stop the use of non bio-degradable products. It is the collective efforts which will end up making a huge difference.

Drought is a natural calamity which is an impending sign of the dark future which this planet might be enveloped in if we do not take the right action now!

What is a drought? As per the given definitions, it is a natural disaster resulting in scarcity of water for drinking, agriculture and industrial purposes. But, given the current scenario, is it actually a natural disaster. This may not be completely true as human activities over a period of time have resulted in altering of nature’s natural phenomenon and today we see droughts occurring at places which were once abundant with water resources. Hence there is a strong need to understand the causes of drought and what can be done to prevent or minimize it.

Drought Prone Regions in India:

Some states of India have been declared as drought-prone due to the frequent occurrence of drought year after year in these states. These states are Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. Apart from these many regions, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and parts of other states are also affected by drought every year.

India is a land which is dependent on monsoon rainfall for adequacy of water. Hence inadequate rainfall is considered as the major reason for drought in most parts of the country. However, this is again a subject of debate as to why there has been insufficient rainfall for quite some years now. Another reason is the drip in the water table and consequently less water vapour in the atmosphere which is responsible for the formation of clouds.

Again global warming has led to changes in the normal climatic conditions and with the increase in temperatures; there has been a significant effect on the monsoon season in India as well. Moreover, high sea temperatures have led to the El Nino effect taking place which has further affected the onset of monsoon season. All these factors combined with improper agricultural practices and increase in pollution levels have contributed to the reduction in the monsoon rainfall which has led to drought each year in many areas in India.

What should be done?

There is an urgent need to have measures in place in order to save the regions of India from drought. One of the major plans of the Government in this regard is the linking of rivers. If we are able to link the rivers we can divert excess rivers from region to the drought-affected areas and save them from this disaster. Another important measure is to have proper irrigation methods in place so as to utilize water only as much as it is required. Moreover, extracting of water through tube wells and other sources should be checked into as this leads to drip in the water table which triggers the onset of drought.

Last, but not least, it is not the responsibility of the government alone to have measures in place to prevent regions from being affected by drought, we all should ensure that we save water to the maximum and follow the rules as laid down by the Government. We should do rainwater harvesting as well so that we store the water provided to us by nature which shall be helpful in difficult times. A collective effort by all can surely be helpful in minimizing if not preventing the situation as adverse as drought.

Introduction:

Drought is a miserable condition caused due to lack of water in a particular region or country or territory for a long period of time. Drought is a natural calamity in which there is scarcity of water everywhere even for the basic needs. People in many countries suffer due to drought and many lose their lives since lack of water leads to lack of food. The impact of drought is very horrible and sometimes it becomes difficult for the affected country to recover to a normal state.

The main reason for drought to occur is the absence of rain. When the normally falling rain fails for a few months then there arises water scarcity. Wells become dry and people and other living beings start to move from one place to another in search of water.

Although lack of rainfall is the main cause for drought , there are also other causes that lead to such a condition.

The various causes of drought are:

Now-a-days people are mis-treating the environment. Why there is no rain? What causes rain? Everyone should ask these questions to themselves to know the real cause of drought. Trees are the main source of rainfall. When we cut trees for constructing buildings, we are not only removing the vegetation and greenery but also removing the main source of rainfall from the Earth.

2. Draining of Surface Water:

Rivers, lakes, ponds are the natural ways by which water is stored in the Earth. Activities like excessive irrigation, excessive use of water for industrial purposes drains the surface water from these natural reservoirs and cause a condition known as drought. Rise in temperature due to global warming is also a cause for draining of water.

Impacts of Drought:

The impact caused by drought is so huge that many countries that faces drought year on year still remains as under-developed countries. The day-to-day activities of the people get stopped. The severity of drought can even take many lives. Let us look into some of the major impacts:

1. Heavy Loss to Farmers:

Agriculture is the source of living for the farmers. Periodic rainfall and the availability of ground water is very much important for agriculture. Drought impacts farmers the most because if there is no rainfall, agriculture fails. There is no yield, plants die, livestock suffers and farmers end up with no income. They get debts to try other ways and make their living but when everything goes out of control, they have no other way than to end their lives. Severe droughts lead to increase in the number of farmer suicides.

2. Loss of Wildlife:

It is during the time of drought, forest fires start occurring. Since everything is dry, fire catches up very easily. The life of wild animals is at huge risk; some get burnt in the forest fires and some lose their habitat and have to move to some other place.

3. Soil Degradation:

Continuous drought will make the soil lose its moisture and fertility. We can see at many places where there are no rains, the lands will have cracks on them. Some areas regain their fertile soil after many years of rain but some totally lose their nature to yield crops.

4. Safety is at Risk:

The scarcity of food leads to increase in prices of commodities. As the droughts might have taken the employment of some, no income would push people to commit crimes such as theft.

There are some ways that people can try to manage drought. Few important ones are listed below: –

People can use rain water harvesting method to save and store rain water and use it at emergency times like drought.

Waste water must be collected, purified and re-used. The water thus stored can be used for watering plants and can be used for irrigation also.

Afforestation techniques can be adopted.

Drought has huge consequences but it is not the end. If everyone of us contribute their share in preserving the environment, then many hazards like drought can be managed very easily.

Drought is a natural disaster that occurs in some regions of the globe. Some regions are more prone to drought while other regions are not. In India, drought has been experienced and a lot of people have died. Drought causes death of humans, animals and plants due to the adverse conditions that are harsh to the ecosystem and limits survival. In disaster management, drought is considered among the threats to human and animal life. Drought is defined as a prolonged period of inadequate water and food. The periods of drought vary but lack of water for over two weeks is considered drought.

During drought, the ecosystem is negatively affected that is why agriculture is compromised and it results in lack of food. The effects of drought are both to the animate and inanimate objects in the environment. Drought is handled by disaster management teams by provision of water and food to the affected people and prevention of further effects like fires on dry vegetation. Drought can occur naturally due to dry seasons or can result from human activities that causes a change in climate.

Lack of rainfall for long periods of time results in drought. Rain formation or precipitation processes require moisture accumulation in the atmosphere or on the ground as ice. Sunshine and winds can affect the precipitation processes as it affects the formation of water.

Another cue of drought is the natural dry seasons whereby low humidity is experienced. During the dry season, water sources dry up due to high temperatures that increase vaporization. In the high demand for vapor, extreme measures like drawing water from plants is reached which results in death of those plants.

Human activities could also result in drought. Agriculture and human settlements result in deforestation. Deforestations predispose the environment to erosion of soil and vegetation destruction. The lack of vegetation and forests causes decreased rainfall in the region and could cause drought occurrence.

Climatic changes also result in drought. Human activities like emission of greenhouse gases to the environment has caused global warming. In global warming, climate change is experienced such that the temperatures on the surface of the earth are raised. Raised temperatures result in increased vaporization and depletion of water from rivers, boreholes. Effects of global warming have been determined to be either extremes of rainfall or drought.

Consequences of Drought:

Drought causes adverse effect on the ecosystem. Interruption and loss of biodiversity is experienced during drought because animals of several species die due to lack of water and food. Also, the living things like trees and vegetation die. Diseases also arise during seasons of drought that affect living things and cause death. Extinction of rare species is common during seasons of drought.

The losses experienced in the economy during drought are substantial. Drought causes death and deterioration of plants thus decreasing the agricultural economical activities. There will be inflation of food production costs and diminished water economic activities like tourism and energy production.

Health of both animals and plants is greatly affected by drought. Drought effects cause diseases like dehydration and malnutrition that are debilitating to both humans and plants. Extreme hunger for humans and animals cause death.

Drought Management:

Once drought has occurred, the protection of people and animals should be done. In disaster management, the focus is on mitigating the consequences and providing life sustenance to those affected by the disaster. In agriculture, methods of irrigation and crop rotation have been implemented in arid areas so as to mitigate the consequences of drought. Water harvesting is also essential in preparation for drought. In water harvesting, construction of dams and boreholes in arid areas has been helpful during seasons of drought.

Erosion is minimized through crop rotation. Water conservation methods like recycling and outdoor use restrictions have been employed in arid areas.

In conclusion, drought is a natural disaster whose effects are adverse and cause loss of life. The management of drought generally involves the water conservation, storage and expansion of sources of water. The consequences of drought are deleterious and destruct the ecosystem and loss of biodiversity.

In order to reduce the consequences of drought, several measures have been put in place. Disaster management teams have conducted projects for water conservation for use during drought like by constructing dams. Mitigating the consequences of drought also involved the inhibition of causes of drought. Mitigation of erosion through planting enough vegetation to prevent erosion goes a long way in preventing drought. Human activities should also be controlled.

Drought can simply be defined as a form of natural disaster that is a result of the precipitation in a particular region below average which results in prolonged periods of water supply shortage, be it ground water, surface water or rainfall water. Droughts can go on for a lot of months or even years; it is most times declared and claimed after about just 15 days.

The agriculture and ecosystem of a particular region can be substantially impacted by drought and this can lead to a great deal of harm on the economy of the region. It has been discovered that the probability of a drought taking place and bush fires occurring is increased significantly by the dry seasons annually. Drought conditions are significantly worsened by long heat periods and this is as a result of the hastened evaporation of vapours of water.

There are a lot of species of plants like the Cactaceae family that have adaptations for the tolerance of drought (like a reduce area of leaf and cuticles that are waxy to help improve their drought tolerance ability). There are other species of plants that survive periods of droughts as seeds that are buried.

Grasslands and Deserts are examples of arid biomes that are produced by droughts that are semi-permanent. Humanitarian crisis and mass migrations are caused by prolonged droughts. Majority of ecosystems that are arid have very low productivity. The world experienced its longest period of drought in Atacama Desert of Chile and the drought lasted for about 400 years.

There are a lot of causes of drought.

A few out of the many causes will be discussed below:

1. Climate Changes:

Droughts are triggered by all the various activities that result in climate change globally and this can have a very strong effect on agriculture all over the world most especially in countries that are developing. Global warming and climate change will bring about an imbalance in the ecosystem.

There is going to be erosion and flooding in some regions and drought in other regions. Therefore, it is quite obvious that climate change and global are one of the leading causes of drought in the world today.

2. Deficiency in Precipitation:

Precipitation is produced through mechanisms including orographic rainfall, strati-form rainfall and convective rainfall. The processes of convective rainfall involve vertical motions that are strong and can lead to the atmosphere overturning in that particular location in about an hour, causing heavy precipitation. The processes of stratiform precipitation involve upward motions that are weaker, a little bit less intense and can last a duration that is longer.

We can divide precipitation into about three categories; this is based on if it falls in form of liquid water, water in liquid form that freezes when it comes in contact with a surface and ice. Droughts mainly occur in areas that the normal rainfall levels are quite low. If the factors in the region do not help the volume of precipitation in a way that they can get to the surface in time, drought occurs. Drought can also be triggered through a very high reflected sunlight level.

3. Dry Season:

In the tropic regions, we have distinct dry and wet seasons and this is as a result of the Monsoon trough. The occurrence of drought is greatly increased during dry seasons, this season is known by the very low humidity and rivers and watering holes drying up. As a result of the inadequacy of watering holes and rivers, a lot of animals that graze migrate because of the absence of water and move to areas that are more fertile. Some of the animals that do this include wildebeest, elephants, zebra and cattle.

As a result of the absence of water, bushfires are very common during this season. Because of the increased temperature, the water vapour tend to become more energetic, to increase the relative humidity to 100%, required water vapour is more. When it is warm, the rate of vegetable and fruit production is increased and this causes an increase in transpiration and evaporation from plants leading to drought conditions that are worse.

Types of Drought :

With the persistence of drought, all of the various conditions that surround it worsen gradually and the effect on the region increases gradually.

There are three major types of droughts:

i. Meteorological drought is a type of drought that occurs anytime we have a prolonged period of below average rainfall or precipitation. It is common for meteorological drought to precede other types of drought.

ii. Agricultural drought is a type of drought that affects the ecology and production of crops in a particular region. Agricultural drought can also happen independently as a result of a change in the levels of precipitation when erosion and soil conditions that are triggered by agricultural endeavours that are poorly planned lead to a drop in the amount of water that is available for crop use. However, traditional droughts are caused by a period of precipitation that is below average.

iii. Hydrological drought is a type of drought that occurs when the available water reserves in sources like reservoirs, lakes and aquifers drop below average. Hydrological drought takes a lot of time to manifest since it deals with water that has been stored and is used and not replenished.

The effects of water shortages can be grouped into three namely:

i. Social effects

ii. Economic effects

iii. Environmental effects

Droughts can also cause wars, wildfires, social unrest, and drop in electricity production, mass migration, hunger, famine and so many more.

Prevention Measures:

Prevention measures include:

i. Building of Dams

ii. Cloud seeding

iii. Desalination

iv. Proper Drought monitoring

v. Proper Land use

vi. Rainwater harvesting

vii. Restriction of water use outdoors

viii. Use of Recycled water

Drought can be very detrimental to the ecosystem and can also have a lot of effects. It is therefore extremely necessary that we do our possible best to battle drought and try to employ methods of drought relief, mitigation methods to prevent drought.

Disaster , Drought , Natural Disasters

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Essay on Drought

Students are often asked to write an essay on Drought in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Drought

Understanding drought.

Drought is a natural event that happens when an area gets less rain than normal. It can last for months or even years.

Causes of Drought

Droughts often occur due to lack of rain. Sometimes, high temperatures can also cause drought by making water evaporate from soil and plants.

Effects of Drought

Drought can make it hard for plants and animals to survive. It can also lead to water shortages for people. In severe cases, drought can cause famine.

Dealing with Drought

People can deal with drought by conserving water, using it wisely, and planning for dry periods.

250 Words Essay on Drought

Introduction.

Drought is a natural disaster characterized by a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water. It is a complex phenomenon that can have serious ecological, social, and economic impacts.

Droughts are primarily caused by irregularities in global weather patterns. Climate change has been identified as a significant factor, with increasing global temperatures leading to changes in rainfall patterns and increased evaporation rates. Human activities, such as deforestation and overuse of water resources, can also exacerbate drought conditions.

Impacts of Drought

Drought can have severe consequences for both the environment and human societies. It can lead to crop failure, livestock death, and water shortages, impacting food production and access to clean water. This can consequently lead to malnutrition, disease, and death, particularly in vulnerable populations. Economically, droughts can result in increased prices and job losses in agricultural sectors.

Drought Mitigation

Mitigation strategies for drought include water conservation, efficient irrigation techniques, and the development of drought-resistant crops. Additionally, improving climate forecasting can help societies prepare for and manage drought conditions. Policymakers must also prioritize sustainable water management to ensure that water resources are used efficiently and equitably.

Drought is a pressing global issue that requires concerted efforts to mitigate its impacts. By understanding its causes and consequences, we can develop effective strategies to manage drought and reduce its harmful effects on society and the environment.

500 Words Essay on Drought

Droughts occur when there is an extended period of below-average precipitation. This deficiency of water supply can last for months or even years. Droughts are categorized into three types: meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological. Meteorological droughts are associated with reduced rainfall, agricultural droughts with soil moisture deficits affecting crop production, and hydrological droughts with reduced water availability in streams, reservoirs, and aquifers.

The primary cause of drought is a lack of precipitation over an extended period. This can be due to natural climate variability, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or changes in atmospheric conditions that suppress the formation of clouds and rainfall. Human activities, such as deforestation and overuse of water resources, can also contribute to the occurrence and severity of droughts.

Drought Management and Mitigation

Effective drought management requires a proactive approach, focusing on reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience. Strategies can include improving water infrastructure, implementing water conservation practices, and developing drought-tolerant crops. At the policy level, it involves developing comprehensive drought management plans, early warning systems, and drought risk insurance. Climate change adaptation strategies also play a crucial role in drought mitigation.

Drought is a significant global challenge that requires concerted efforts to mitigate and adapt. While it is a natural phenomenon, human activities have exacerbated its occurrence and impacts. Therefore, understanding drought, its causes, impacts, and management strategies is essential for sustainable development and resilience. As we move forward, it is crucial that we continue to enhance our knowledge and strategies to better manage and mitigate the effects of droughts.

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Drought Essay

500 words essay on drought.

Droughts refer to conditions when particular regions face scarcity of water because of low or no rainfall. It is one of the most prevalent problems in India. A lot of areas in the country get hit by drought every year while others face it occasionally. Moreover, many factors contribute to the problem of drought which includes deforestation, global warming and more. Drought essay will take us through it in detail.

Drought Prone Areas in India

In India, there are a lot of chronic drought-affected regions. They include the West Rajasthan and the Kutchtch regions of Gujarat. The main factor for this is the geographical location of these areas.

Moreover, the monsoon season in this area is also very weak by the time they reach there. In addition, humans degrading the environment also do not help but add to the brutality of this problem.

Other than that, other drought-prone areas are Western Orissa, Rayalsema and Telangana areas of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, interior Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and more. However, the two states which suffer the most from both floods and drought are Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

As per an estimate, around 70% of cultivable land in India is Drought prone. If we look at the past three years, some areas in Rajasthan have been experiencing very little rains. Thus, it becomes harder for the people in that area.

The most impacted section of the society is the marginal farmers, landless labourers and persons from the economically backward section. In addition, the tribal depending on forest produce also suffer from droughts.

Prevention of Droughts

With droughts, the case is different from tsunamis and cyclones. Meaning to say, we can predict it much in advance. Thus, it gives ample time for the Government authorities to prepare for it in advance and cope with this problem.

The Meteorological Department can easily predict the quantity and duration of rainfall with a fair degree of accuracy. As a result, we can counter the intensity and impact of droughts by a series of preventive as well as curative measures.

First of all, we must promote small scale and cottage industry in order to reduce the dependence on agriculture in drought-prone areas. Further, executing a rainwater harvesting project with community cooperation can help in many areas.

Most importantly, we must increase the forest cover by plantation. Similarly, we can also research arid cultivation technologies to implement them in drought-prone areas.

It is also essential to formulate drought management strategies with the involvement of the communities. Finally, we must also introduce crop insurance schemes so that the farmers do not suffer a great loss.

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Conclusion of Drought Essay

To sum it up, drought is a difficult situation with which we have to deal with. When the severity is high, it becomes all the more difficult to manage it. A lot of people get affected because of droughts every year as it reduces human activities. Thus, it is essential to take effective measures to deal with it.

FAQ of Drought Essay

Question 1: What are the effects of drought?

Answer 1: Drought affects the environment in a lot of different ways. We all know that plants and animals depend on water, just like humans. When a drought happens, their food supply shrinks and their habitat can be damaged. As a result, an increase in disease in wild animals happens because of reduced food and water supplies.

Question 2: Why do droughts happen?

Answer 2: Droughts happen when there is not enough rain for a long period of time. It is not like a dry spell, there is so little precipitation (rain, snow, sleet ) that a whole province starts to dry out. Sometimes, a drought can take decades to fully develop.

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The Problem of Drought on Earth Essay

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The earth goes through different climates, normally based on temperature and precipitation differences. Most of the organisms found on the earth’s surface have developed mechanisms to adapt to different climates, though some climatic conditions are too harsh for these animals. Drought is one of the worse climatic changes since it does not only interfere with the water cycle, but every living thing found on the earth’s surface.

The worst thing that has happened in the current century is not depletion of energy sources, nor is it an increase in nuclear war but loss in the biodiversity. The other catastrophes can be repaired within a very short period but loss in biodiversity would take millions of years to correct.

The biggest threat to biodiversity is drought; this can either occur due to natural processes or can be influenced by human beings. Management and conservation measures of the South African reserve should be aimed at establishing ways of preventing the current biodiversity as well as investing in others.

When planning on the conservation measure to adapt for the South African reserve, certain issues have to be put into consideration; both biodiversity and the ecosystem must be preserved for future generation. Since the drought is affecting the vegetation for grazers, it is likely that most of them will die or be eaten by the predators (the lions and dogs).

This may not continue for long as all the grazers may be killed and some may die out of starvation leaving no food for the predators. This calls for urgent conservation measures in order to ensure that neither the grazers nor the predators become extinct.

Many organisms are able to thrive in the habitations that they are most adapted to, for example, fish cannot be able to survive outside water because they have special features that enable them to stay in water. The same applies to wildlife which cannot be able to thrive in an area without vegetation. Conservation measures should therefore be aimed at preserving the vegetation so as to provide a habitat for the wildlife

One way of conserving the reserve would be to transfer the lions and dogs and some of the grazers to other reserves with plenty of food in order to conserve the affected reserve and ensure that none of the organisms get extinct. Transferring the predators and some of the grazers would not be enough because even after doing that the carrying capacity of the reserve remains low and thus the remaining grazers will soon die of hunger.

Other conservation measures have to be adopted for instance planting of turf grass. Almost every cultural landscape contains turf grass lawn, which dictates the infrastructural aesthetic held by people and enforced by ordinance. The lawn is a landscape that requires regular watering yet does not get wet and require limited use of fertilizer and is always short.

The landscape is in essence designed to separate itself from the two most important components it needs, that is, water and resources. This is the heritage of a cultural endeavour to create a water-loving landscape that cannot put up with water.

Drought may be caused by increased human activities and thus the conservation plan must include measures on how to control such activities. It is true that human influences have led to the accelerating rate of climate change. In most cases, the human activities on land such as pollution and deforestation interfere with the water cycle. These activities do not only affect the aquatic life but also the natural cycle of water.

The aquifer table is depleted leading to increased surface runoff. If man was able to balance his activities with the water cycle, then there could be a strong relationship between land and water where each depend on the other one. Many people have changed their perspective about the environment and are now using measures of conserving it.

As we all know, drought is caused by lack of rainfall and the latter is being influenced by human activities such as deforestation and over-cultivation. To respond to this issue, trees should be planted and the government should issue bans to prevent the exploitation of the ecosystem. With all these measures being put into place, we expect the effects of the drought to decline although this may take quite some time.

Human beings in many parts of the world have become more conscious on the role played by living organisms. For instance, forests and vegetations are believed to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere thereby controlling the rate of global warming.

Measures have been put in place to ensure that certain areas are left as reserves and most governments have gone to the extent of planting forests. This has created an increase in the habitat of most species and the rate of extinction which has increased significantly is expected to go down.

If the number of reserves is increased in South Africa, animals would be distributed evenly in these reserves and the impacts of the drought would not be as severe as if the number of reserves is limited.

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What is drought? Causes, impact & countries most affected

East Africa is facing its worst drought in 40 years, with over 1.4 million people displaced by drought in Somalia alone. Learn more about drought, what causes it, and how we can support those most impacted.

Around the world, droughts are becoming increasingly common due to rising global temperatures — and have serious impacts, leading to crop failures, famine and malnutrition. 

East Africa , for example, is facing its worst drought in years, affecting 40 million people. Many are facing near-famine and malnutrition because of the drought’s impact on food supplies. 

Learn more about drought, what causes it, and what the IRC is doing to help in East Africa. 

Support our work

What is drought .

Drought is caused by a lack of rainfall, causing serious water shortages. It can be fatal.  

More specifically, drought is defined by a period of unusually dry weather caused by low rainfall and high temperatures. It is also defined in terms of the impact on agriculture when crops fail due to lack of moisture in soil, leading to food shortages and serious human impacts such as famine in severe cases. 

Unlike other extreme weather events that are more sudden, like earthquakes or hurricanes, droughts happen gradually. But they can be just as deadly as other weather hazards—if not more so. Drought has affected more people in the last 40 years than any other natural disaster.  

The severity of drought worsens over time. When it arrives, drought can last for weeks, months, or years—sometimes, the effects last decades. 

What causes drought?  

Droughts can be triggered by natural causes such as weather patterns. But increasingly they are caused by human activity. 

Human causes of drought 

Climate change : Global warming makes extreme weather more likely. It can make places drier by increasing evaporation. When land becomes so dry, an impermeable crust forms, so when it does rain, water runs off the surface, meaning sometimes flash flooding occurs. 

Deforestation : Plants and trees capture and release water into the atmosphere, which creates clouds and then rain. Scientists have observed a relationship between deforestation and drought. 

Agriculture : Intensive farming contributes to deforestation in the first instance but can also affect the absorbency of the soil, meaning it dries out much more quickly. 

High water demand : There are several reasons water demand might outweigh the supply, including intensive agriculture and population spikes. Also, high demand upstream in rivers (for dams or irrigation) can cause drought in lower, downstream areas. 

Other natural causes of drought 

Changes in ocean temperatures : El Niño and La Niña are climate patterns that can cause drought in some parts of the world. El Niño is characterized by warmer-than-average ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which can lead to drought in the southwestern United States and southern Africa. La Niña is characterized by cooler-than-average ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which can lead to drought in Australia and Indonesia. 

The jet stream : The jet stream is a band of strong winds that flows high in the atmosphere. Changes in the jet stream can cause drought in some areas by bringing in dry air from other parts of the world. 

How are people impacted by drought? 

Risk of famine .

Drought causes food insecurity when crops fail. When a substantial part of the population can no longer access food this is known as famine and results in widespread acute malnutrition, disease and death across the affected region. 

East Africa is currently experiencing widespread food shortages and near-famine, with millions of children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 

Malnutrition 

A lack of nutritious food caused by food shortages leads to acute malnutrition. Children suffering from malnutrition are a high risk category. Deprived of essential vitamins and minerals required for their proper growth, they are prone to disease, severe developmental delays and even death.   

Effective treatment for children suffering from malnutrition exists, but often does not reach those most in need. The IRC has developed a simplified process for treating malnutrition in order to reach more children with lower costs. 

Increase in diseases 

Drought affects vital access to clean drinking water. This can lead to people drinking contaminated water, which brings about outbreaks of diseases like cholera and typhoid. These diseases can also spread in places with poor sanitation, another side-effect of having no clean water. 

It can cause wildfires 

Dry conditions can cause wildfires that burn remaining vegetation and endanger homes. Fires can also impact air quality and exacerbate chronic lung conditions. 

People are displaced 

People must travel further to find clean water. This usually falls to women and children, who must sacrifice other work and school to carry out an incredibly physical task. 

Without access to clean water or food, many must permanently leave their homes in order to survive. The World Health Organization states , “Water scarcity impacts 40% of the world’s population, and as many as 700 million people are at risk of being displaced as a result of drought by 2030.” 

Related : Meet the people displaced by drought in Somalia  

It can feed into conflict 

Research has also found that drought exacerbates existing conflicts. People migrating en masse from areas of drought and famine can result in increased political tensions and conflict due to increased competition for resources. There is evidence that drought contributed to the conflict in Syria , for example. 

Flash flooding 

Flooding can also be a risk in the same geographical areas that suffer from drought. 

Rain after a drought sounds like it ought to be a good thing, but after a prolonged period of dryness, sudden heavy rainfall can lead to hazardous flash flooding like that seen in Pakistan.  

This is because droughts leave the ground hard and baked, with little to no plant cover and low soil quality, which prevents rain from saturating the ground. Instead, when waterfalls in a large quantity and at speed—like in a thunderstorm—it runs over the parched ground. 

Which countries are in a drought? 

Droughts can occur all around the world. However, the effects of drought vary by region.  

Droughts bring the most risk to areas with high-pressure weather systems that are already prone to desertification. Developing countries are also more vulnerable to the socio-economic effects of drought due to a large percentage of their population being employed in the agriculture industry.  

East Africa 

In Africa droughts pose a high risk and the following countries in East Africa are severely affected by drought: 

Somalia where drought is leading to near-famine conditions 

Kenya which has experienced a record six below average rainy seasons 

Ethiopia has seen six below average rainy seasons in a drought affecting 31 million people 

Over 40 million people have been impacted by the drought across East Africa. The drought affecting countries like Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia began in October 2020. Throughout these regions, insecurity, severe drought, and an exponential increase in food prices have brought millions to the brink of famine. 

“Somalia is seeing the worst of the crisis, with over 200,000 already living in the most extremes of hunger, but the challenge is regional,” says Abukar Mohamud, IRC’s Deputy Director of Programs for Somalia. “Across East Africa, people are facing the worst drought in 40 years.  

“People are not just dying due to a lack of food. Hunger means their weakened bodies cannot fight off diseases like diarrhea, measles or malaria, so death rates are high. Children are particularly at risk and often die at double the rate of adults. And those who survive will face ill health for the rest of their lives. The 2011 famine saw over 250,000 people die of hunger – half of whom were children.” 

What is the IRC doing to help in East Africa? 

East Africa is home to some of the IRC’s longest-running programs globally. Today, over 2,000 IRC staff in the region are scaling up our programs to address the current drought and rising food insecurity, including expanding to new areas to meet severe needs. 

This includes health programming, food and cash assistance, and providing clean water.  

A new approach to treating malnutrition 

Currently, 80% of malnourished children do not have access to treatment. The IRC has developed a streamlined approach for treatment so that more children can access treatment and recover. We are working to raise funds and remove blocks so that this treatment can be distributed at scale in places like East Africa.  

How can I help?

Around the world, our staff are working around the clock to ensure families can survive, recover and regain control of their futures. Donate now to support our work.

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Essay on Drought

Introduction

Imagine waking up to a day filled with sunshine, yet only a feeble trickle of water flows out as you turn on the faucet. This scenario, though fictional for many, mirrors the harsh reality millions face during droughts. Drought, a prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation, disrupts the rhythm of daily life, impacting everything from agriculture to industry to personal well-being. In this essay, we explore the intricacies of drought, including its origins, extensive repercussions, and the pressing requirement for viable solutions to alleviate its catastrophic impact on communities globally.

Types of Droughts

Drought manifests in various forms, each with distinct characteristics and impacts on different societal and environmental sectors. Here are the main types of drought:

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• Meteorological Drought: Meteorological drought manifests when a particular region experiences an extended period of precipitation significantly below its usual levels. A deficit in rainfall primarily characterizes it compared to the long-term average for that area. This type of drought can lead to dry soil conditions, reduced groundwater levels, and decreased surface water availability.
• Agricultural Drought: Agricultural drought occurs when the moisture content in the soil falls below the threshold necessary to sustain robust crop growth and development. It results in a lack of water for agricultural activities, potentially causing crop failure, reduced yields, and livestock loss. Agricultural drought can have severe economic repercussions, impacting food security, livelihoods, and rural economies.
• Hydrological Drought: Hydrological drought is associated with deficits in water supply within hydrological systems such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. It occurs when prolonged periods of low precipitation and reduced runoff diminish water availability in surface water bodies and groundwater aquifers. Hydrological drought can result in decreased water levels in rivers and reservoirs, reduced hydropower generation, and restrictions on water use for irrigation, industry, and domestic purposes.
• Socioeconomic Drought: Socioeconomic drought refers to the impacts of water scarcity on human populations and socioeconomic activities. It encompasses drought’s direct and indirect consequences on communities, economies, and societies. Socioeconomic drought can lead to food and water shortages, loss of income and employment, increased poverty and inequality, and social unrest. It highlights the interplay between environmental conditions, water management practices, and societal vulnerabilities in shaping the overall impact of drought events.

Causes of Drought

Drought is a complex phenomenon influenced by a combination of natural processes and human activities. Here are some of the main causes of drought:

• Climate Variability and Change: Variations in atmospheric circulation patterns, like the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), can induce shifts in precipitation distribution, leading to intervals of diminished rainfall and subsequent drought conditions. Climate change exacerbates drought conditions by altering temperature and precipitation patterns, increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration of drought events in many regions.
• Deforestation and Land Degradation: Deforestation disrupts the water cycle by reducing transpiration and evaporation, decreasing rainfall, and increasing runoff. Land degradation, including soil erosion and desertification, reduces soil moisture retention and inhibits vegetation growth, exacerbating drought conditions.
• Overuse and Mismanagement of Water Resources: Overextraction of groundwater for irrigation, industry, and domestic use depletes aquifers, reducing groundwater recharge rates and exacerbating drought conditions. Inefficient water management practices, such as unsustainable irrigation methods and inadequate water storage infrastructure, can exacerbate water scarcity during drought.
• Urbanization and Population Growth: Urbanization alters land cover and increases impervious surfaces, reducing infiltration and groundwater recharge rates, exacerbating surface water runoff and flooding, and exacerbating drought conditions in nearby areas. Population growth increases water demand for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes, putting additional pressure on water resources and exacerbating drought conditions.
• Changes in Land Use and Agricultural Practices: Conversion of natural habitats to agriculture and urban areas alters the hydrological cycle, leading to changes in evapotranspiration, precipitation patterns, and runoff, exacerbating drought conditions. Intensive agricultural practices, such as monoculture farming and excessive irrigation, deplete soil moisture and degrade soil quality, increasing vulnerability to drought.
• Natural Variability and Extreme Weather Events: Natural climate variability, such as periodic fluctuations in ocean temperatures and atmospheric circulation patterns, can lead to prolonged periods of reduced rainfall and drought. Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and prolonged dry spells, exacerbate drought conditions by increasing evaporation rates and reducing soil moisture.

Impacts of Drought

The impacts of drought are multifaceted and can affect various aspects of the environment, economy, society, and public health. Here’s a detailed explanation of the impacts of drought:

1. Agricultural Impacts

• Reduced Crop Yields: Drought leads to soil moisture deficits, hindering seed germination, crop growth, and development. As a result, farmers experience reduced crop yields and lower productivity.
• Livestock and Pasture Losses: Limited availability of water and forage resources during drought periods can lead to livestock deaths, decreased milk production, and loss of grazing land, impacting the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists.
• Economic Losses: Agricultural drought results in significant economic losses for farmers, agribusinesses, and rural economies due to reduced crop yields, livestock losses, and increased production costs.

2. Water Supply Impacts

• Decreased Surface Water Availability: Drought reduces streamflow, river levels, and reservoir storage, decreasing water availability for municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes.
• Groundwater Depletion: Prolonged periods of drought can deplete groundwater reserves as groundwater pumping increases to compensate for reduced surface water supplies, leading to long-term declines in aquifer levels.
• Water Quality Degradation: Decreased water flows and increased water temperatures during drought can exacerbate water quality issues, such as elevated concentrations of pollutants and contaminants, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.

3. Environmental Impacts

• Ecosystem Stress: Drought causes stress to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, leading to reduced vegetation cover, habitat degradation, and loss of biodiversity. Sensitive ecosystems such as wetlands, forests, and freshwater habitats are particularly vulnerable to drought-induced changes.
• Increased Wildfire Risk: Drought creates dry and combustible conditions, increasing the risk of wildfires. These wildfires can devastate forests, grasslands, and wildlife habitats, leading to habitat loss, soil erosion, and air quality degradation.
• Desertification and Land Degradation: Prolonged drought accelerates desertification and land degradation processes, leading to soil erosion, loss of arable land, and degradation of natural resources, exacerbating food insecurity and rural poverty.

4. Socioeconomic Impacts

• Food and Water Scarcity: Drought-induced crop failures and water shortages can lead to food and water scarcity, threatening food security and livelihoods, particularly in rural and marginalized communities.
• Economic Disruption: Drought disrupts economic activities, reduces agricultural output, and affects industries reliant on water resources, leading to job losses, decreased incomes, and reduced economic growth.
• Social Displacement: Drought-induced food and water scarcity, coupled with economic hardships, can trigger population displacement, migration, and conflicts over natural resources, exacerbating social tensions and inequalities.

5. Public Health Impacts

• Waterborne Diseases: Drought diminishes both the availability and quality of water, heightening the likelihood of waterborne illnesses like diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever due to inadequate sanitation and hygiene protocols.
• Malnutrition and Food Insecurity: Drought-related crop failures and food shortages can lead to malnutrition, especially among vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, children, and the elderly, exacerbating existing health disparities.
• Mental Health Issues: Drought-induced stress, anxiety , and depression can affect individuals and communities, particularly those facing financial hardships, social disruptions, and environmental losses.

Case Studies of Drought

Here are three case studies of significant drought events from different regions of the world:

1. California Drought (2012-2016)

• Duration: The California drought, often called the “worst drought in 1,200 years,” lasted from 2012 to 2016.
• Impacts: The drought had widespread impacts across California, affecting agriculture, water supply, ecosystems, and communities. Reduced snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains led to decreased surface water availability, while groundwater levels declined due to increased pumping for irrigation. Agricultural losses amounted to billions of dollars, with farmers facing fallowed fields and crop failures. Urban areas implemented water restrictions, conservation measures, and drought emergency declarations to cope with dwindling water supplies.
• Response: California implemented various measures to address the impacts of the drought, including water conservation mandates, groundwater management reforms, investments in water recycling and desalination projects, and habitat restoration initiatives. The state also developed long-term water management strategies to enhance drought resilience and adapt to future climate challenges.

2. Australian Millennium Drought (1997-2009)

• Duration: The Australian Millennium Drought, one of the most severe droughts in Australia’s recorded history, lasted from 1997 to 2009.
• Impacts: The drought affected large parts of Australia, including the southeastern states of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Declining rainfall, depleted water reservoirs, and drying rivers led to severe water shortages for urban, agricultural, and environmental purposes. Crop yields declined, livestock numbers decreased, and ecosystems suffered from reduced water availability and habitat degradation. The drought also exacerbated water allocation and management conflicts between different sectors and regions.
• Response: Australia implemented various measures to mitigate the impacts of the drought and build resilience to future drought events. These measures included water restrictions, water efficiency programs, investment in water infrastructure and recycling projects, implementation of drought relief programs for farmers, and reforms in water governance and management practices. The Millennium Drought prompted significant policy reforms, such as the National Water Initiative, to improve water allocation, conservation, and management across the country.

3. Sahel Drought (1968-1974)

• Duration: The Sahel Drought, a prolonged period of drought and famine, occurred in the Sahel region of West Africa from 1968 to 1974.
• Impacts: The drought had devastating impacts on the Sahelian countries, including Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Declining rainfall, crop failures, and livestock losses led to food shortages, malnutrition, and famine, affecting millions of people. The drought exacerbated environmental degradation , desertification, and soil erosion, further reducing agricultural productivity and exacerbating poverty and social unrest in the region.
• Response: The Sahel Drought prompted international humanitarian assistance efforts, including food aid, emergency relief, and development assistance programs. National governments and international organizations implemented drought mitigation and adaptation measures, including drought-resistant crop varieties, water harvesting techniques, reforestation projects, and soil conservation practices. The drought also underscored the imperative for long-term strategies to tackle the underlying vulnerabilities in the Sahel region, including poverty , environmental degradation, and insufficient infrastructure.

Coping Strategies and Solutions

Coping with drought requires a combination of short-term measures to address immediate needs and long-term solutions to build resilience and adapt to changing climate conditions. Here are some coping strategies and solutions:

• Water Conservation and Efficiency Measures : Introduce water-saving technologies and methodologies across agricultural, industrial, and residential sectors, including drip irrigation, rainwater collection, and the use of efficient water fixtures. Promote public awareness and education campaigns on water conservation and efficient water use behaviors. Enforce water restrictions and regulations to limit non-essential water use during drought periods.
• Diversification of Water Sources : Allocate resources towards alternative water sources like recycled water, desalinated seawater, and treated wastewater to complement conventional water reserves during periods of drought. Develop decentralized water supply systems, including decentralized rainwater harvesting and decentralized wastewater treatment systems, to enhance water resilience at the local level.
• Drought-Resistant Agriculture : Promote the adoption of drought-resistant crop varieties and agroforestry practices that require less water and are more resilient to drought stress. Implement soil conservation measures, such as mulching and tillage, to improve soil moisture retention and reduce soil erosion during drought. Encourage sustainable land management strategies, such as crop rotation, cover crops, and integrated pest control, to improve soil fertility and boost drought resistance.
• Water Demand Management : Implement demand management strategies, such as water pricing mechanisms, water metering, and incentives for water conservation, to reduce overall water consumption and mitigate drought impacts. Encourage water-efficient land use planning and development practices, including green infrastructure and low-impact development, to minimize water demand and maximize water retention in urban areas.
• Ecosystem Restoration and Conservation : Restore and protect natural ecosystems, such as wetlands, forests, and riparian zones, that provide critical ecosystem services, including water regulation, flood control, and groundwater recharge. Implement watershed management strategies, such as reforestation, soil conservation, and habitat restoration, to enhance ecosystems’ resilience to drought and mitigate downstream impacts on water quality and quantity.
• Community-Based Adaptation : Foster community participation and collaboration in drought preparedness and response efforts, including community-based monitoring, early warning systems, and local water management initiatives. Build social capital and strengthen community resilience through capacity-building, livelihood diversification, and social safety nets to support vulnerable populations during droughts.
• Policy and Governance Reform : Develop and implement integrated water resource management policies and plans prioritizing sustainable water use, ecosystem protection, and climate resilience. Strengthen governance frameworks, institutional capacities, and regulatory mechanisms to ensure effective drought preparedness, response, and recovery at the local, national, and regional levels.

Policy and Government Initiatives

Policy and government initiatives are crucial in mitigating drought impacts and building resilience to water scarcity. Here are some examples of policies and initiatives implemented by countries around the world:

• Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) : Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a comprehensive water management approach incorporating the social, economic, and environmental aspects of water resources. Countries like South Africa have adopted IWRM principles in their national water policies to promote sustainable water use, equitable water allocation, and stakeholder participation.
• Drought Management Plans : Many countries have developed drought management plans to enhance preparedness, response, and recovery efforts during drought events. Australia’s National Drought Policy provides a framework for coordinated federal, state, and local drought management, including risk assessment, early warning, and emergency relief measures.
• Water Pricing and Market Mechanisms : Water pricing mechanisms, such as volumetric pricing and water markets, can incentivize efficient water use and allocation. Nations like Chile have adopted water markets, enabling users to purchase, sell, and exchange water rights, fostering water conservation, and enhancing allocation efficiency.
• Water Rights and Allocation Reforms : Reforming water rights systems and allocation mechanisms can improve water use efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Mexico’s National Water Law introduced water rights reforms, establishing a system of water permits and concessions to regulate water use and promote environmental conservation.
• Climate Change Adaptation Strategies : Nations are incorporating climate change adaptation strategies into their water management policies to tackle the effects of climate variability and change, including drought occurrences. The European Union’s Water Framework Directive incorporates climate change considerations into water management planning and implementation to enhance water resilience and ecosystem protection.
• Investments in Water Infrastructure : Enhancing water infrastructure investments, including the construction of dams, reservoirs, and water treatment plants, can bolster both the reliability of the water supply and its resilience to drought. China’s South-to-North Water Transfer Project is one of the largest water infrastructure projects in the world. It aims to transfer water from water-rich regions in the south to water-stressed regions in the north to alleviate water scarcity and drought risks.
• International Cooperation and Agreements : International cooperation and agreements are essential for addressing transboundary water issues and sharing best practices in drought management. The Nile Basin Initiative brings together countries in the Nile River basin to promote cooperation, sustainable development, and joint management of shared water resources, including measures to address drought and climate risks.

Future Challenges and Opportunities

As we look ahead, several challenges and opportunities emerge in the context of drought management and resilience-building efforts:

• Climate Change Impacts : We expect climate change to worsen drought conditions globally, requiring proactive measures to reduce emissions and adapt to changing climate patterns.
• Water Scarcity and Competition : Population growth and increased water demand intensify competition for limited water resources, requiring sustainable water management practices and equitable allocation mechanisms.
• Ecosystem Vulnerability : Droughts threaten ecosystems substantially, resulting in habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. Therefore, conservation and restoration initiatives are vital for bolstering ecosystem resilience.
• Socio-Economic Vulnerability : Vulnerable communities bear the brunt of drought impacts, facing food insecurity and poverty. Addressing social vulnerabilities and promoting inclusive development are essential for resilience.
• Technological Innovation : Technological advancements like remote sensing and data analytics present opportunities for enhanced drought monitoring and early warning systems, thereby augmenting preparedness and response capabilities.
• Policy and Governance Reform : Strengthening policy frameworks and governance mechanisms is crucial for effective drought management. Integrated approaches and multi-stakeholder collaboration are needed to foster resilience.
• Community Resilience and Empowerment : Empowering local communities and building social capital are key to enhancing drought resilience. Investing in community-led initiatives and capacity-building programs can promote sustainable development.

Drought remains a significant threat, exacerbated by climate change and increasing water demands. However, proactive measures such as water conservation, community resilience-building, and policy reform offer hope for mitigating its impacts. Embracing technological advancements, fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, and prioritizing community empowerment are vital for navigating future challenges. Investing in sustainable water management practices and adaptive strategies can build resilience and ensure a more resilient future in the face of drought. Together, we can address the complexities of drought and create a more sustainable and equitable world for generations to come.

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Home — Essay Samples — Environment — Drought — A Report On The Droughts

A Report on The Droughts

• Categories: Drought Environmental Issues

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Published: Oct 2, 2020

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Climate Basics » Extreme Weather

Drought and climate change.

Background on Drought

A drought is “a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time (usually a season or more), resulting in a water shortage. ” Indicators of drought include precipitation, temperature, streamflow, ground and reservoir water levels, soil moisture, and snowpack.

Climate change increases the odds of worsening drought in many parts of the United States and the world. Regions such as the U.S. Southwest , where droughts are expected to get more frequent, intense, and longer lasting, are at particular risk.

How climate change contributes to drought:

• Warmer temperatures enhance evaporation, which reduces surface water and dries out soils and vegetation. This makes periods with low precipitation drier than they would be in cooler conditions.
• Warmer winter temperatures are causing less precipitation to fall as snow in the Northern Hemisphere, including in key regions like the Sierra Nevada of California .
• Decreased snowpack can be a problem , even if the total annual precipitation remains the same. This is because many water management systems rely on spring snowpack melt . Likewise, certain ecosystems also depend on snowmelt, which supplies cold water for species like salmon. Because snow acts as a reflective surface, decreasing snow area also increases surface temperatures, further exacerbating drought.
• Some climate models find that warming increases precipitation variability, meaning there will be more periods of both extreme precipitation and drought. This creates the need for expanded water storage during drought years and increased risk of flooding and dam failure during periods of extreme precipitation.
• For example, the Southwestern United States has already seen a decrease in annual precipitation since the beginning of the 20 th century, and that trend is expected to continue.
• Estimates of future changes in seasonal or annual precipitation in a particular location are less certain than estimates of future warming, and are active areas of research. However, at the global scale, scientists are confident that relatively wet places, such as the tropics and higher latitudes, will get wetter, while relatively dry places in the subtropics (where most of the world’s deserts are located) will become drier.
• In some areas , droughts can persist through a vicious cycle , in which very dry soils and diminished plant cover absorb more solar radiation and heat up, encouraging the formation of high pressure systems that further suppress rainfall, leading an already dry area to become even drier.

Recent U.S. droughts have been the most expansive in decades. At the peak of the 2012 drought, the most extensive drought since the 1930s, an astounding 81 percent of the contiguous United States was under at least abnormally dry conditions.

California experienced a particularly drawn-out drought from December 2011 to March 2019, broken in part by the wettest winter in the United States . 2020 saw widespread, prolonged drought that was exacerbated by heat waves in more than a dozen Western and Central states. The intense drought and heat combined to wither vegetation, intensifying Western wildfires that burned record acreage.

Nationwide, conditions reached their peak in December 2020, when the greatest extent of land since 2012 was under extreme drought conditions. In the West, drought has continued and intensified in 2021, and has been exacerbated in the Pacific Northwest by record heat.

Threats Posed by Drought

The United States is historically susceptible to drought. Paleoclimate studies show major droughts in the distant past, with more recent dry periods still within living memory, such as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s or the drought of the 1950s. These historic examples serve as guideposts to highlight our vulnerabilities to drought as we move into a warmer and, in some places, drier future.

Severe drought can affect:

• Water supply: Droughts are defined by their lack of available water. During droughts, communities may have limited access to water for household use, including drinking, cooking, cleaning, and watering plants, as well as for agriculture, transportation, and power generation. Droughts may lead to higher water costs, rationing, or even the decimation of important water sources like wells, as a drought did in a rural California community in 2021.
• Agriculture: Droughts affect livestock and crops, including corn, soybeans, and wheat. At the height of the 2012 drought, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared a natural disaster over 2,245 counties, 71 percent of the United States. Globally, drought struck several major breadbasket regions simultaneously in 2012, adding to food price instability . In countries already facing food insecurity, cost spikes can lead to social unrest, migration, and famine.
• Transportation: Droughts can lower river water levels, threatening commerce on rivers like the Mississippi. Transport barges need at least nine feet of water to operate, and to maintain this level, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to blast, dredge, and clear obstructions on a key stretch of the Mississippi in 2013. Drought is also often accompanied by extreme heat, which can buckle roadways, ground planes, and warp public transit cables. Drought-fueled wildfires also have repercussions for travel by closing roadways and railroads and grounding planes when smoke is thick.
• Energy: Droughts can raise concerns about the reliability of electricity production from plants that require cooling water to maintain safe operations. Hydroelectric power may also become unavailable during droughts. When heat waves coincide with droughts, electricity demands can grow, compounding stress on the grid.
• Public Health: Reduced flows in rivers and streams can concentrate pollutants , threatening the quality of water used for drinking and recreation. Also, drought-fueled wildfires can expose nearby communities to smoke and pollutants, which can exacerbate chronic respiratory illnesses.

All of these drought impacts can inflict extreme costs on people, businesses, and governments. From 2011 through 2020, the United States experienced nine droughts , each causing at least $1 billion in damages.

Droughts also increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, including by decreasing land productivity,   which   reduc es   the amount of vegetation storing   carbon dioxide . In addition, increases in drought-related wildfire and soil erosio n   can release   carbon dioxide   sequestered in trees and plants   back into the atmosphere.

How to Build Resilience

Governments and businesses must identify their vulnerability to drought and improve resilience. They can help prepare for both future droughts and climate change by practicing and promoting water conservation and enhancing water efficiency throughout landscapes, city plans, and water infrastructure. They can also identify alternative water supplies, create drought emergency plans, and encourage farmers to plant drought-resistant crops.

The Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation portal helps communities understand and plan for their climate risks today and in the future, including a real-time map of wildfire, drought, flooding, and extreme heat across the United States.

Other actions that improve resilience to other stressors, like deploying green infrastructure for stormwater management  increasing energy efficiency in buildings (thereby using less power from plants that rely on water to function), and using renewable energy like solar (that isn’t reliant on water) can improve resilience to drought as a co-benefit.

These steps will be most effective if they are combined with reductions in greenhouse gases that can minimize the ultimate magnitude of climate change. Luckily, many solutions that build resilience to drought and other climate stressors – like water conservation and improving soil health – can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Related Content

Publication, resilience strategies for drought.

Across the United States, the risk of drought is expected to grow due to reduced precipitation and higher temperatures caused by climate change. Drought’s far-reaching impacts can ripple through communities, regions, watersheds, economies and ecosystems. This fact sheet overviews strategies …

View Details Download (pdf, 647 KB)

Resilience Strategies for Wildfire

The risk of wildfire is expected to grow across the United States due to reduced precipitation in some regions, and higher temperatures caused by climate change. Wildfire has far-reaching impacts that can ripple through communities, regions, watersheds, and ecosystems. This …

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Extreme Weather and Climate Change

Tags Impacts Resilience Science Extreme Weather

Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient, Equitable Cities

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January 28, 2021

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Cities Advancing Climate Action: Federal Funds for Local Impact

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The Climate Resilience-Economy Nexus: Advancing Common Goals

Communities across the United States are experiencing increasingly severe and frequent floods, wildfires, extreme heat, and other hazards due to climate change. These hazards are impacting local economies by damaging critical infrastructure and commercial districts, disrupting business operations, reducing municipal …

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Other Resources

• National Weather Service Drought Information
• IPCC Fifth Assessment Report Working Group 1
• Overview of the Water-Energy Nexus in the United States, National Conference of State Legislatures
• Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) Portal
• National Integrated Drought Information System (Drought.gov)
• FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC)
• FEMA Building Community Resilience With Nature-Based Solutions, Strategies for Success
• Risk Factor: Find Your Property’s Climate Risks

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Droughts and Climate Change

Drought and america's southwest, drought adversely affects everything from plants to soil. learn more about usgs drought research., have questions about drought, we have answers. here's everything you need to know about drought., monitoring vegetation drought stress, no two droughts are alike. here's how we study the impact of drought on vegetation., publications.

• Data and More

Drought is a serious environmental threat across the United States. Climate change exacerbates droughts by making them more frequent, longer, and more severe. The USGS works with state and federal partners to study, monitor, and help mitigate drought impacts across the U.S. now and into the future.

Check out the USGS Drought Website to see up-to-date news, science, and publications on drought and water supply.

USGS Water Science School

The USGS Water Science School teaches people of all ages about water! Check out some of their pages related to drought, groundwater, and water management to understand the effects of climate-induced droughts on human communities.

• Droughts: Things to Know
• Questions and Answers about Drought
• Drought and Groundwater Levels
• Groundwater Decline and Depletion
• The Story of Water in Dryville (Activity)

How does Climate Change Impact Droughts?

Defining drought may seem easy. If an area receives less rain or snow than expected over the course of a year, it can be classified as being in drought. The severity of drought increases over time depending on how long an area remains arid. However, there’s more to the story than solely if there isn’t enough rain or snow.

Droughts don’t just affect water stored in wetlands, lakes, and rivers, but also water below ground stored in aquifers and in the soil. When this groundwater gets used up, the dry ground can act like a sponge, sucking surface water straight in. The surface water-groundwater relationship gets even more complicated with snowpack. If snow melts too early in the year, water can move through the environment too quickly, causing the ground to dry up and become “thirsty” too soon. So even if there is “enough” water, the timing of the water may dictate whether an area is in a drought.

Climate change has further altered the natural pattern of droughts, making them more frequent, longer, and more severe. Since 2000, the western United States is experiencing some of the driest conditions on record. The southwestern U.S., in particular, is going through an unprecedented period of extreme drought. This will have lasting impacts on the environment and those who rely on it.

USGS Science Helps Communities Understand, Prepare, and Mitigate Droughts

The USGS employs its wide range of scientific expertise to study how droughts affect human and natural communities and how to effectively predict, prepare for, manage, and recover from water shortages. USGS research spans geographic and temporal scales, exploring everything from short, local “flash” droughts to long-term, large-scale “mega” droughts.

Our science helps to:

• Understand how climate change contributes to modern droughts
• Explore the effects of droughts on plants, animals, ecosystems, and communities
• Help develop water management strategies under drought conditions
• Develop tools to assess the severity of droughts and to predict future droughts
• Understand the connection between droughts and wildfires
• Use the fossil record to compare past droughts to current ones

USGS Data, Science, and Prediction

The USGS actively coordinates our drought research efforts among our many diverse scientists. Experts like water scientists, wildlife biologists, and geologists all work together to study droughts and their impacts. This effort strengthens our existing observation networks by investing in real-time data collection on rainfall, stream flows, and environmental impacts. With these improved data sets, USGS scientists are working to better understand when and how droughts occur. We are also developing models to help predict which communities and landscapes may be vulnerable to future droughts, as well as when, how long, and how severe those droughts might be. We provide this information to help cities and natural resource managers develop plans to prepare for future droughts and lessen the impacts of droughts on natural and human communities.

Additional Resources

• Current Map | U.S. Drought Monitor (unl.edu)
• National Current Conditions | Drought.gov
• Climate Prediction Center - United States Drought Information (noaa.gov)

Landscape-scale forest restoration decreases vulnerability to drought mortality under climate change in southwest USA ponderosa forest

Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate, usgs integrated drought science.

CASC Drought Research Highlights

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project

Atmospheric Warming, Loss of Snow Cover, and Declining Colorado River Flow

Past Perspectives of Water in the West

Drivers and Impacts of North Pacific Climate Variability

Water resources mission area - headquarters.

USGS Headquarters 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston , VA 20192 United States

National Climate Adaptation Science Center

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 516 Reston , VA 20192 United States

PubTalk-02/2022 - Do Droughts Affect Groundwater Quality? A California Story

Do Droughts Affect Groundwater Quality? A California Story

By Zeno Levy, USGS Research Geologist

Eyes on Earth Episode 67 - ECOSTRESS and Water Use

If you want to know how much rain fell yesterday, you can catch it and measure it. Water vapor? That's not so easy. Which is a problem if you want to know how quickly that rate is returning to the atmosphere. Water vapor is the single largest part of the water budget, but without space-based observations, it would be all but impossible to measure at wide scale.

Lake Powell

This year is the 150 th  Anniversary of John Wesley Powell’s expedition to explore the Colorado River, a 1,450-mile long waterway that runs through the Western United States and into Mexico.

KS Drought 2012

Drought at Comal Springs

Comal Springs, one of the largest springs in Texas, ran dry during the 2013 drought

Eyes on Earth Episode 17 - Evapotranspiration

It’s easy enough to measure rainfall, and nearly as easy to measure streamflow. Calculating the efficiency of water use through the metric of evapotranspiration (ET) – evaporation off the Earth’s surface and transpiration from the leaves of plants – is a far trickier proposal.

Ecological Drought: Exploring impacts on natural/cultural resources

This webinar presentation was conducted as part of the Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series, hosted in partnership by the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center and the FWS National Conservation Training Center.

Drought, Drinking Water and Natural Environments

This short video is one of a series of four total shorts highlighting USGS water science in California's Delta region. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the hub of the state's water system. Water quality touches on all aspects of life. Teams of U.S.

Co-producing Tools to Plan for Drought on the Wind River Reservation

Webinar Summary: The Wind River Reservation in west-central Wyoming is home of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. The reservation has experienced severe drought impacts on Tribal livelihoods and cultural activities in recent years.

Lake Powell’s storage capacity updated for first time since 1986

Future peak flow along rio grande may arrive early due to climate change, groundwater flow to colorado river may decline by a third over next 30 years.

The USGS has hundreds of publications on drought. Here are a few of our favorites on drought and climate change!

Explore USGS research projects on drought and water availability under climate change.

USGS Integrated Drought Science Plan

Wetlands in the Quaternary

SPARROW modeling: Estimating nutrient, sediment, and dissolved solids transport

State of the Science Synthesis on Transformational Drought: Understanding Drought’s Potential to Transform Ecosystems Across the Country

Natural Drought and Flood Histories from Lacustrine Archives

Identifying Characteristics of Actionable Science for Drought Planning and Adaptation

Balancing Water Usage and Ecosystem Outcomes Under Drought and Climate Change: Enhancing an Optimization Model for the Red River

Eco-drought Actionable Science Working Group

Check out some of our favorite tools and visually stunning interactive narratives describing USDS drought work.

Ecological Drought Across the Country

Learn about how the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been exploring the topic of ecological drought across the country. 

From Snow to Flow (data visualization story)

A majority of the water in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, but changes in the timing, magnitude, and duration of snowmelt can alter water availability downstream. This data visualization story explores what changing snowmelt means for water in the West, and how new USGS efforts can advance snow science by modeling snowpack and snowmelt dynamics and linking these results to streamflow.

Check out some of the amazing USGS photos, videos, podcasts, and webinars on drought and climate change.

Drought: the Long, Slow Natural Hazard (Part 2)

In the second part of our two-part drought mini-series, we head down South to talk with USGS scientists Curtis Weaver and Brian McCallum about the drought situation in the Southeastern United States. We also learn some eye-opening economic implications of drought. (Did you know that it's possibly the most expensive natural hazard to address?)

Drought: the Long, Slow Natural Hazard (Part 1)

In the first part of our two-part series on drought, we sit down with USGS scientists Julio Betancourt and Greg McCabe to talk about drought in the Western United States, along with some other interesting and surprising drought info.

When does a drought begin?

Listen to hear the answer.

What causes drought?

SALT LAKE CITY – A new report released today and compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)...

A new study finds that peak runoff on the Rio Grande could arrive earlier in the season by the end of the century, negatively impacting a watershed...

A new study projects that a hot and dry future climate may lead to a 29% decline in Upper Colorado River Basin “baseflow” at the basin outlet by the...

Visualizing Vulnerability: A Customizable Assessment of Climate Vulnerability in the Midwest Puts Climate Change on the Map

USGS researchers developed, in collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managers, an interactive watershed vulnerability online dashboard...

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Southwest CASC supported researchers collected seed count and post-fire conifer seedling observational data, matching these observations with...

Project Spotlight: Pacific Islands CASC Supports Drought Community of Practice in Hawai’i

The Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange, supported by the Pacific Islands CASC, connects island resource managers with localized climate data to create...

Recordings Available: Ecological Drought National Webinar Series

The ecological drought webinar series was co-hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA's) National Integrated Drought...

Decreased flow projected for Southwest streams by end of century

Streamflow in the Southwestern U.S. is projected to decrease by as much as 36–80% by the end of this century, reports a new study by the U.S...

Cross-CASC Initiative Identifies Challenges of Modern Droughts

In a series of workshops across the eight regional CASCs, researchers worked with land managers and stakeholders to co-produce a recently-published...

New Research Uses Tree Ring Data to Assess Drought Severity in the Missouri River Basin

A newly-published article, partially funded by the North Central CASC and co-authored by Alaska CASC scientists Stephen Gray and Jeremy Littell...

Colorado River Flow Dwindles as Warming-Driven Loss of Reflective Snow Energizes Evaporation

New USGS research indicates that streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) is decreasing by about 5% per degree Fahrenheit as a consequence...

Study Links Major Floods in North America and Europe to Multi-Decade Ocean Patterns

The number of major floods in natural rivers across Europe and North America has not increased overall during the past 80 years, a recent study has...

Meet some drought experts at USGS, learn more about some of our (oh so many) USGS offices working on drought and climate change, and connect with our news and social media feeds!

Water Resources (News)

Drought news, climate adaptation science centers (news), usgs climate, clint muhlfeld, ph.d., research ecologist, jason b dunham, supervisory research ecologist, nathaniel (than) hitt, phd (former employee), research fish biologist, benjamin h letcher, brian r clark, deputy program coordinator, deputy program coordinator, water resources availability portfolio (wrap).

A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems. The amount of precipitation at a particular location varies from year to year, but over a period of years the average amount is fairly constant. In the deserts of the Southwest, the average precipitation is less than 3 inches per year. In contrast, the average precipitation in the Northwest is more than...

When does a drought begin and end?

The beginning of a drought is difficult to determine. Several weeks, months, or even years might pass before people know that a drought is occurring. The end of a drought can occur as gradually as it began. The first evidence of drought is usually seen in records of rainfall. Within a short period of time, the amount of moisture in soils can begin to decrease. The effects of a drought on flow in...

Where in the Nation are droughts or very low flows occurring now? How can I see these sites on a map and get to the data?

To view the USGS streamflow information on drought, see the drought map on our WaterWatch site, which shows below-normal, 7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the United States. Links to additional maps and drought data are listed on the USGS Drought website and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) .

Why doesn't a drought end when it rains?

Rainfall in any form will provide some drought relief. A good analogy might be how medicine and illness relate to each other. A single dose of medicine can alleviate symptoms of illness, but it usually takes a sustained program of medication to cure an illness. Likewise, a single rainstorm will not break the drought, but it might provide temporary relief. A light to moderate shower will probably...

Drought: Identifying Impacts and Evaluating Solutions

PBS, WGBH Educational Foundation

In this set of activities, students learn about impacts of drought through news videos of communities facing serious water shortages, analyze drought data and models, and research and evaluate potential solutions. This lesson works well as a component within a larger unit on climate change, its impacts, and ways to address the resulting issues.

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• Teaching Tips Even though the lesson is designated for grades 9-12, it could be used in grades 6-8. An explicit teacher guide/script is provided in the procedures. Teacher may want to preview the videos and printout accompanying handouts for each case study. Before watching the Case Study videos, it should be emphasized that technical lessons of drought will be taught through worksheets and lecture, not the videos. Rather, the take away from the videos are an account of how humans can be affected by drought.
• About the Science In these activities, students learn about the different drought characterizations and causes of drought based on both climate patterns and human interaction with the environment. The lesson discusses solutions to drought that are being explored and how these solutions are connected to different drought characterizations. These lessons do a great job of incorporating state-of-the-art science into the lesson plan. There is a great use of data from NOAA to visualize drought across the United States. The presentation does a nice job of showing how different types of drought, e.g. meteorological and agricultural, are interconnected. The study cited data when appropriate except in slides 3 & 6 of the presentation. Drought is covered in a great deal of depth in this resource and allows students to develop an intimate understanding with the subject. Comments from expert scientist: Good use of case studies from a variety of regions. Numerous small and larger scale solutions are presented, some of which are short term and some are currently short-term but may become longer term. Resources are finite and population growth is exponential, so long-term solutions will be necessary. Drought is cyclic and it would be useful to emphasize that longer-term solutions - changes in behavior will be necessary because long term uncontrolled population growth will lead to future drought impacts even in the absence of reduced precipitation.
• About the Pedagogy Students learn about the impacts of water shortages due to drought, make connections to climate patterns, and explore solutions that increase communities' capacities to respond to drought. The lesson procedure provides the ability for students to learn about both what drought is and how to mitigate the negative effects of drought. The case studies allow for students to see the effect drought has on communities. Since the three regions that are covered by the videos may not be in the students' own community, the extension activity provides a venue to explore the above mentioned topics in their community.The videos provide great visual references if students have not actually experienced a severe drought in their community. Uses the 5E model to teach on water availability, impacts of drought, patterns of drought, and the identification and evaluation of solutions. Case-studies, individual or small group work, open, whole group discussions are encouraged. Due to the use of the 5E model, the sequencing is well organized. The main lesson, as well as the extensions, allow for independent research. The handouts provide a vehicle for students to express their scientific impressions of the videos. Through videos, lectures, and worksheets the lesson plan appeals to multiple types of learning. The procedure includes example answers for assessment of student answers, but does not provide a clear avenue for how assessment can be conducted in this lesson. A diverse population is represented in the videos.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use Resource is available online but does have optional download capabilities. Integrated share to Google Classrooms button. Also can be assigned through Remind, social media platforms, or with the PBS LearningMedia Lesson Builder Tool. All videos have the capability of closed captioning and/or printable transcripts. The materials are of high technical quality.

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Below-average precipitation affects the amount of moisture in soil as well as the amount of water in streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater.

Earth Science, Climatology, Conservation, Anthropology

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A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal precipitation . The lack of adequate precipitation , either rain or snow, can cause reduced soil moisture or groundwater , diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a general water shortage. Droughts are the second-most costly weather events after hurricanes.

Unlike with sudden weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms, it is often difficult to pinpoint when a drought has started or when it has ended. The initial effects of a drought may be difficult to identify right away, so it may take weeks or months to determine that a drought has started. The end of a drought is hard to identify for the same reason. A drought may last for weeks, months, or even years. Sometimes, drought conditions can exist for a decade or more in a region. The longer a drought lasts, the greater the harmful effects it has on people.

Droughts affect people in a several ways. Access to clean drinking water is essential for all life, and sources of water may dwindle during a drought . Without the presence of water, people must bring in enough water from elsewhere to survive. Water is also needed for crops to grow. When not enough precipitation falls to naturally water crops , they must be watered by irrigation . Irrigation is possible only when there is enough water in nearby rivers, lakes, or streams, or from groundwater . During a drought , these water sources are diminished and may even dry up, preventing crops from being irrigated and causing them to die off.

One person studying these problems is Alexandra Cousteau, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer whose latest initiative is Blue Legacy. She started Blue Legacy to raise awareness that we live on a water planet and must take care of it. Cousteau, the granddaughter of the famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, believes that water will be a crucial issue in this century. She predicts that water problems such as drought , storms, floods, and degraded water quality will create “water refugees :” people migrating in search of water. Cousteau stresses that we must do all we can to protect Earth’s valuable freshwater resources.

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Related Resources

Essay on Drought for Children and Students

Table of Contents

Drought is a condition when there are no rains for a long period of time. The occurrence of drought is a common sight in many parts of the country. The consequences of this condition are drastic and many times irreversible. Drought is the condition when certain parts of the world are deprived of rain for months or at times the entire season. There are several reasons that cause drought-like situations in different parts and prove to be fatal.

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Long and Short Essay on Drought in English

Here are some short and long essays on Drought of varying lengths to help you with the topic. You can choose any drought essay given below:

Drought Essay – 1 (200 words)

Drought which is marked by the absence of or low rain in a particular region for a long period of time occurs because of various reasons including global warming, deforestation and many other human activities. This climatic condition can cause disastrous impact on the environment as well as the living beings. Some of the effects of drought include failure of crops, financial loss, price rise and soil degradation.

Several Indian states have been hit by drought leading to mass destruction of crops and disruption of the normal functioning of the society. Many parts have even witnessed famine leading to the death of several people due to starvation. Looking at the adversities faced by people in such areas, the government of India has come up with various drought relief plans however a lot more needs to be done to control this problem and deal with its after effects.

Some of the solutions suggested in this direction are rainwater harvesting, recycling and reuse of water, controlling deforestation, sea water desalination, cloud seeding, growing more plants and trees, stopping overall waste of water. However, most of these cannot be achieved if the general public does not support the cause. Each one should thus take it as a responsibility to contribute his/ her bit to curb the problem.

Drought Essay – 2 (300 words)

Drought, which results in the shortage of water, is mainly caused due to lack of rainfall. The situation is problematic and can prove to be fatal for those living in the drought-affected areas. It is particularly a curse for the farmers as it destroys their crops. Continuous drought-like situation also leads to the soil becoming less fertile.

Causes of Drought

There are various factors that lead to drought. Here is a look at these causes in detail:

• Deforestation

Deforestation is said to be one of the main causes of shortage of rainfall that leads to drought. Adequate amount of trees and vegetation is required on land to limit evaporation of water, store enough water on land and attract rainfall. Deforestation and construction of concrete buildings in their place has caused a major misbalance in the environment. It lowers the capacity of the soil to hold water and increases evaporation. Both these are a cause of low rainfall.

• Low Surface Water Flow

Rivers and lakes are the main sources of surface water in various regions around the world. In extreme summers or because of usage of surface water for various human activities, the water in these sources dries down leading to drought.

• Global Warming

The negative impact of global warming on the environment is known to all. Among other issues, the emission of greenhouse gases that results in the rise in earth’s temperature has resulted in the rise in evaporation. High temperature is also a cause of wildfires that worsens the drought-condition.

Apart from these, excessive irrigation is also one of the causes of drought as it drains the surface water.

Though the causes of drought are largely known and are mostly the result of misuse of water resources and other non-environmental friendly human activities, nothing much is being done to curb this problem. It is time the governments of various countries should join hands to overcome this global issue.

Drought Essay – 3 (400 words)

Drought occurs when a region receives no or less than the average amount of rainfall leading to water shortage, failure of crops and disruption of normal activities. Various factors such as global warming, deforestation and construction of buildings have given rise to drought.

Types of Droughts

While some areas are marked by complete absence of rain for a long period of time, others receive less than the average amount of precipitation, yet others might face drought for some part of the year – So the severity and type of drought varies from place to place and from time to time. Here is a look at the different types of droughts:

• Meteorological Drought

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. In India an area is said to be hit by meteorological drought when the annual rainfall is 75% less than the average rainfall.

• Hydrological Drought

This is basically associated with the reduction in water. Hydrological droughts are often a result of two successive meteorological droughts. These are divided into two categories:

• Surface Water Drought
• Ground Water Drought
• Soil Moisture Drought

As the name suggests, this situation involves inadequate soil moisture that hinders crop growth. This is an outcome of meteorological drought as it leads to lower water supply to soil and greater water loss due to evaporation.

• Agricultural Drought

When the meteorological or hydrological droughts lead to negative impacts on the crop yield in a region, it is said to be hit by agricultural drought.

This is said to be the most severe drought situation. People in such regions do not get any access to food and there is mass starvation and devastation. The government needs to intervene in such a situation and food is supplied to these places from other places.

• Socio-Economic Drought

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.

Drought is a difficult situation to deal with especially if the severity is high. Several people are affected due to drought each year. While the occurrence of drought is a natural phenomenon, we can certainly reduce the human activities that lead to such a situation. Government must also come up with effective measures to deal with its after effects.

Drought Essay – 4 (500 words)

Drought, a condition that occurs due to no or very low rainfall, has been classified into different categories including meteorological drought, famine, socio-economic drought, hydrological drought and agricultural drought. Whatever be the type of drought, it disturbs the normal functioning of the regions affected.

Impacts of Drought

The regions hit by drought take a good amount of time to recover from the disaster caused, particularly if the severity of the drought is high. Drought disrupts the day-to-day lives of the people and has a widespread impact on various sectors. Here is how this natural disaster impacts the lives of the people living in the affected region:

• Agricultural Loss

A major impact occurs on the agriculture and other related sectors as these are directly dependent on the ground and surface water. Loss of crop yields, low rate of livestock production, rise in plant disease and wind erosion are some of the major impacts of drought.

• Financial Loss for Farmers

Farmers are worst effected by drought. 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. In an attempt to make their ends meet, many farmers end up in debt. The cases of farmer suicides due to such situation are also common.

• Wildlife at Risk

The cases of forest fires increase during droughts and this puts the wildlife population at high risk. Forests get burnt down and many wild animals end up losing life while others lose their shelter.

The prices of various cereals, fruits, vegetables rise because of low supply and high demand. The prices of food items such as jams, sauces and drinks that are produced from those particular fruits and vegetables also increase. In certain cases, goods are imported from other places to meet the demands of the people and hence the prices levied on the same are high. The retailers who offer goods and services to the farmers also face financial loss due to reduced business.

• Degradation of Soil

The soil loses moisture due to continuous drought and its quality degrades. It takes a lot of time for some areas to regain the ability to yield crops.

• Overall Impact on Environment

Damage is caused to various species of plants and animals, there is degradation of landscape quality and biodiversity is impacted. The quality of air and water is also affected due to drought. While some of these conditions are temporary others may last long and might even turn permanent.

• Public Safety at Stake

Lack of food and increased prices of different commodities may give rise to crimes such as theft and this can put public safety at stake. Conflict may also occur between water users thereby causing tension among general public.

Drought Prone Countries

Some of the countries that are more prone to drought include Albania, Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Northeast parts of Brazil, Burma, Cuba, Morocco, Iran, China, Bangladesh, Botswana, Sudan, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Drought is one of the most disastrous natural calamities. Famine, that is the most severe forms of drought, ends in major socio, economic and environmental loss for the regions affected.

Drought Essay – 5 (600 words)

Drought, a condition when certain regions are faced with scarcity of water due to low or no rainfall, has been the cause of several problems in India. There are many areas in the country that are hit by drought each year while others are faced with this condition occasionally. 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.

Drought Prone Areas in India

Many regions in the country are hit by drought each year. Statistics reveal that approximately one-sixth of the total geographical area of the country that inhabits around 12% of the population is drought prone.

One of the most drought prone states in the country is Rajasthan. As many as eleven districts in this state are hit by drought. These regions receive scanty or no rainfall and have low level of ground water. Drought is also a common phenomenon in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Almost every district here is hit by drought each year.

Here is a look at some of the other regions in the country that face frequent drought:

• Saurashtra and Kutch, Gujarat
• Coimbatore in Kerala
• Mirzapur Plateau and Palamu, Uttar Pradesh
• Kalahandi, Orissa
• Purulia, West Bengal
• Tirunelveli District, South of Vaigai River, Tamil Nadu

Possible Solutions for Drought

• Rain Water Harvesting

This is the technique of collecting and storing rainwater in tanks and natural reservoirs to use it later. Rain water harvesting must be made mandatory for all. The idea behind this is to put the available water to use.

• Sea Water Desalination

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 government must make major investment in this direction.

• Recycle Water

Waste water must be purified and recycled for reuse. This can be done in many ways. Small steps such as installing rain barrel, collecting the waste water from RO systems, usage of shower buckets, saving water from washing veggies and creating rain garden can help in this direction. The water collected by these means can be used to water the plants.

• Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding is done to modify weather. It is a way to increase the amount of precipitation. Potassium iodide, silver iodide and dry ice are some of the chemicals used for the purpose of cloud seeding. The government should invest in cloud seeding to avoid drought in the areas prone to this condition.

• Plant More Trees

Deforestation and the building of concrete structures is one of the causes of scanty rainfall. Efforts must be made to plant more trees. This simple step can change the climatic conditions and also bring about other positive changes in the environment.

• Water Usage

Each one should take it as a responsibility to stop the wastage of water so that there is availability of enough water even when during times of low rainfall. Government must take steps to keep a check on the usage of water.

• Campaigns must be Run

The government must run campaigns stating the benefits of rain water harvesting, planting more trees and other measures that the general public can take to fight drought. This is a good way to spread awareness and control the problem.

Though the government has put certain drought relief plans in place however these are not enough to overcome the drastic problem of drought. It is important to take strong steps to avoid this problem. Everyone should contribute their bit to control this problem.

Related Information:

• Essay on Flood
• Paragraph on Flood

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Essay on Drought

Drought is a condition when there are no rains for a long period of time. The occurrence of drought is a common sight in many parts of the country. The consequences of this condition are drastic and many times irreversible. Drought is the condition when certain parts of the world are deprived of rain for months or at times the entire season. There are several reasons that cause drought-like situations in different parts and prove to be fatal.

Long and Short Essay on Drought in English

Here are some short and long essays on Drought of varying lengths to help you with the topic. You can choose any drought essay given below:

Drought Essay – 1 (200 words)

Drought which is marked by the absence of or low rain in a particular region for a long period of time occurs because of various reasons including global warming, deforestation and many other human activities. This climatic condition can cause disastrous impact on the environment as well as the living beings. Some of the effects of drought include failure of crops, financial loss, price rise and soil degradation.

Several Indian states have been hit by drought leading to mass destruction of crops and disruption of the normal functioning of the society. Many parts have even witnessed famine leading to the death of several people due to starvation. Looking at the adversities faced by people in such areas, the government of India has come up with various drought relief plans however a lot more needs to be done to control this problem and deal with its after effects.

Some of the solutions suggested in this direction are rainwater harvesting, recycling and reuse of water, controlling deforestation, sea water desalination, cloud seeding, growing more plants and trees, stopping overall waste of water. However, most of these cannot be achieved if the general public does not support the cause. Each one should thus take it as a responsibility to contribute his/ her bit to curb the problem.

Drought Essay – 2 (300 words)

Drought, which results in the shortage of water, is mainly caused due to lack of rainfall. The situation is problematic and can prove to be fatal for those living in the drought-affected areas. It is particularly a curse for the farmers as it destroys their crops. Continuous drought-like situation also leads to the soil becoming less fertile.

Causes of Drought

There are various factors that lead to drought. Here is a look at these causes in detail:

• Deforestation

Deforestation is said to be one of the main causes of shortage of rainfall that leads to drought. Adequate amount of trees and vegetation is required on land to limit evaporation of water, store enough water on land and attract rainfall. Deforestation and construction of concrete buildings in their place has caused a major misbalance in the environment. It lowers the capacity of the soil to hold water and increases evaporation. Both these are a cause of low rainfall.

• Low Surface Water Flow

Rivers and lakes are the main sources of surface water in various regions around the world. In extreme summers or because of usage of surface water for various human activities, the water in these sources dries down leading to drought.

• Global Warming

The negative impact of global warming on the environment is known to all. Among other issues, the emission of greenhouse gases that results in the rise in earth’s temperature has resulted in the rise in evaporation. High temperature is also a cause of wildfires that worsens the drought-condition.

Apart from these, excessive irrigation is also one of the causes of drought as it drains the surface water.

Though the causes of drought are largely known and are mostly the result of misuse of water resources and other non-environmental friendly human activities, nothing much is being done to curb this problem. It is time the governments of various countries should join hands to overcome this global issue.

Drought Essay – 3 (400 words)

Drought occurs when a region receives no or less than the average amount of rainfall leading to water shortage, failure of crops and disruption of normal activities. Various factors such as global warming, deforestation and construction of buildings have given rise to drought.

Types of Droughts

While some areas are marked by complete absence of rain for a long period of time, others receive less than the average amount of precipitation, yet others might face drought for some part of the year – So the severity and type of drought varies from place to place and from time to time. Here is a look at the different types of droughts:

• Meteorological Drought

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. In India an area is said to be hit by meteorological drought when the annual rainfall is 75% less than the average rainfall.

• Hydrological Drought

This is basically associated with the reduction in water. Hydrological droughts are often a result of two successive meteorological droughts. These are divided into two categories:

• Surface Water Drought
• Ground Water Drought
• Soil Moisture Drought

As the name suggests, this situation involves inadequate soil moisture that hinders crop growth. This is an outcome of meteorological drought as it leads to lower water supply to soil and greater water loss due to evaporation.

• Agricultural Drought

When the meteorological or hydrological droughts lead to negative impacts on the crop yield in a region, it is said to be hit by agricultural drought.

This is said to be the most severe drought situation. People in such regions do not get any access to food and there is mass starvation and devastation. The government needs to intervene in such a situation and food is supplied to these places from other places.

• Socio-Economic Drought

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.

Drought is a difficult situation to deal with especially if the severity is high. Several people are affected due to drought each year. While the occurrence of drought is a natural phenomenon, we can certainly reduce the human activities that lead to such a situation. Government must also come up with effective measures to deal with its after effects.

Drought Essay – 4 (500 words)

Drought, a condition that occurs due to no or very low rainfall, has been classified into different categories including meteorological drought, famine, socio-economic drought, hydrological drought and agricultural drought. Whatever be the type of drought, it disturbs the normal functioning of the regions affected.

Impacts of Drought

The regions hit by drought take a good amount of time to recover from the disaster caused, particularly if the severity of the drought is high. Drought disrupts the day-to-day lives of the people and has a widespread impact on various sectors. Here is how this natural disaster impacts the lives of the people living in the affected region:

• Agricultural Loss

A major impact occurs on the agriculture and other related sectors as these are directly dependent on the ground and surface water. Loss of crop yields, low rate of livestock production, rise in plant disease and wind erosion are some of the major impacts of drought.

• Financial Loss for Farmers

Farmers are worst effected by drought. 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. In an attempt to make their ends meet, many farmers end up in debt. The cases of farmer suicides due to such situation are also common.

• Wildlife at Risk

The cases of forest fires increase during droughts and this puts the wildlife population at high risk. Forests get burnt down and many wild animals end up losing life while others lose their shelter.

The prices of various cereals, fruits, vegetables rise because of low supply and high demand. The prices of food items such as jams, sauces and drinks that are produced from those particular fruits and vegetables also increase. In certain cases, goods are imported from other places to meet the demands of the people and hence the prices levied on the same are high. The retailers who offer goods and services to the farmers also face financial loss due to reduced business.

• Degradation of Soil

The soil loses moisture due to continuous drought and its quality degrades. It takes a lot of time for some areas to regain the ability to yield crops.

• Overall Impact on Environment

Damage is caused to various species of plants and animals, there is degradation of landscape quality and biodiversity is impacted. The quality of air and water is also affected due to drought. While some of these conditions are temporary others may last long and might even turn permanent.

• Public Safety at Stake

Lack of food and increased prices of different commodities may give rise to crimes such as theft and this can put public safety at stake. Conflict may also occur between water users thereby causing tension among general public.

Drought Prone Countries

Some of the countries that are more prone to drought include Albania, Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Northeast parts of Brazil, Burma, Cuba, Morocco, Iran, China, Bangladesh, Botswana, Sudan, Uganda, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Drought is one of the most disastrous natural calamities. Famine, that is the most severe forms of drought, ends in major socio, economic and environmental loss for the regions affected.

Drought Essay – 5 (600 words)

Drought, a condition when certain regions are faced with scarcity of water due to low or no rainfall, has been the cause of several problems in India. There are many areas in the country that are hit by drought each year while others are faced with this condition occasionally. 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.

Drought Prone Areas in India

Many regions in the country are hit by drought each year. Statistics reveal that approximately one-sixth of the total geographical area of the country that inhabits around 12% of the population is drought prone.

One of the most drought prone states in the country is Rajasthan. As many as eleven districts in this state are hit by drought. These regions receive scanty or no rainfall and have low level of ground water. Drought is also a common phenomenon in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Almost every district here is hit by drought each year.

Here is a look at some of the other regions in the country that face frequent drought:

• Saurashtra and Kutch, Gujarat
• Coimbatore in Kerala
• Mirzapur Plateau and Palamu, Uttar Pradesh
• Kalahandi, Orissa
• Purulia, West Bengal
• Tirunelveli District, South of Vaigai River, Tamil Nadu

Possible Solutions for Drought

• Rain Water Harvesting

This is the technique of collecting and storing rainwater in tanks and natural reservoirs to use it later. Rain water harvesting must be made mandatory for all. The idea behind this is to put the available water to use.

• Sea Water Desalination

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 government must make major investment in this direction.

• Recycle Water

Waste water must be purified and recycled for reuse. This can be done in many ways. Small steps such as installing rain barrel, collecting the waste water from RO systems, usage of shower buckets, saving water from washing veggies and creating rain garden can help in this direction. The water collected by these means can be used to water the plants.

• Cloud Seeding

Cloud seeding is done to modify weather. It is a way to increase the amount of precipitation. Potassium iodide, silver iodide and dry ice are some of the chemicals used for the purpose of cloud seeding. The government should invest in cloud seeding to avoid drought in the areas prone to this condition.

• Plant More Trees

Deforestation and the building of concrete structures is one of the causes of scanty rainfall. Efforts must be made to plant more trees. This simple step can change the climatic conditions and also bring about other positive changes in the environment.

• Water Usage

Each one should take it as a responsibility to stop the wastage of water so that there is availability of enough water even when during times of low rainfall. Government must take steps to keep a check on the usage of water.

• Campaigns must be Run

The government must run campaigns stating the benefits of rain water harvesting, planting more trees and other measures that the general public can take to fight drought. This is a good way to spread awareness and control the problem.

Though the government has put certain drought relief plans in place however these are not enough to overcome the drastic problem of drought. It is important to take strong steps to avoid this problem. Everyone should contribute their bit to control this problem.

Related Information:

Essay on Flood

Paragraph on Flood

Essay on Loss of Biodiversity

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