Drought CP

 Drought CP

Drought is also an extreme situation, which happens due to insufficiency of precipitation over a

longer period causing damages to crops. Definition of drought varies in different countries and

regions depending on the average precipitation level of the country such as countries or regions

generally receiving lesser annual average rainfall don’t consider 5 to 6 days without rainfall as

drought however similar condition is called a drought situation in countries receiving higher rainfall throughout the year.

Drought and its Causes

If flood happens due to excess of water than drought due to lack of it and dryness and resultant

lack of agricultural production leads to drought situation. The major causes of drought are:

Lack of precipitation: When the level of precipitation is less than about 75% of the normal

average, over a long period of time, drought happens. The drought condition is more prevalent

when agricultural production gets impacted due to lack of rainfall and irrigation facilities

Reduction of surface water flow: When the flow of surface water bodies like streams and rivers

reduces or the rivers get dried up due to storage of water in dams/ reservoirs in the upstream for

hydro power plants and irrigation facilities, drought like situation happen in the downstream

regions of the river

Deforestation: Hydrological cycle (including evaporation, precipitation and condensation) of the

earth is maintained by plants and trees. Trees have water retention capabilities, can control

evaporation and maintain ground water level. Deforestation due to excessive population growth

and various economic activities has exposed the surface to erosion and reduced the level of

ground water and the ability of the earth surface to hold water, as a result with prolong period of

dryness, desertification and drought crises appears.

Global Warming: Rise in global temperature due to increase in greenhouse gases has impacted

the climate drastically as a result many areas goes dry and forest catches fires leading to

desertification and drought like condition.

Types of Droughts

Droughts conditions can be classified as agricultural, meteorological, hydrological and socio

economical drought. The drought condition act as indicators for government agencies, authorities

and municipalities to develop a relief plan and provide related assistance to effected public.

Agricultural Drought: This drought condition impacts the country’s economy drastically.

Farmers are badly effected with agricultural drought when soil moisture decreases and water

demand for crop production surpasses the water supply level impacting crop growth. Decline in

crop growth and production ultimately hampers the food supply and economy. Agricultural

drought condition happens when the soil moisture reduces due to hot and dry weather with less

rainfall leading to lack of agricultural production.

Hydrological Drought: This is a drought condition where in the water level of all the surface

water bodies including dams, lakes, reservoirs, rivers etc. falls below an established standard.

Even when demand or usage of water is more than the supply or availability of water in the

reserves hydrological drought happens

Meteorological Drought: This drought condition is due to natural factors like lower level of

precipitation, lack of moisture in the atmosphere, dryness for longer period and high temperature.

Meteorological drought if persist for longer time period can cause serious water crises and

related problems. This drought can stretch from a small period to longer period

Impact (Problems) of Drought

The impact of drought can be felt beyond the physical boundary of drought hit areas. As drought

condition is associated with lack of water, it impacts not only the society but also the economy

and the environment.

Economic Impact of Drought: Water is required for production of goods and service, thus lack

of it impacts people, business and governments. Water is prime factor for agricultural and related

field, crop production largely depends on the water supply, and hence shortage of it hampers

production of both crops and livestock’s. Farmer’s or crop producers bear the brunt directly as

lower crop production means direct loss of profit margin and income. Loss of income mainly of

the farmer impacts their social life. Lower production and higher demand for food supply can

lead to price rise of basic commodities, which have direct impact on the buyers especially the

lower income group. 

Also, in case of shortages of basic commodities, things might be imported,

again costing the government. Business might take a hitting if drought conditions persist for a

long time such as most manufacturing industries, agricultural product industries, and water

recreational business depends on water, so lack of it can force the business to stop operation in

the affected areas. Thus many people can become jobless.

Besides, drought condition and associated dryness also increases the chances of wind erosion and

birth of various diseases and epidemics as well, which costs individuals, community and the

nation at large.

Lower precipitation, high temperature and dryness increases the chances of forest fires, which

damages the habitat for both animal and human. Forest fire and damages to plants and other

vegetation impact both public and the government.

In addition, shortage of water or dryness of the surface water like rivers can impacts hydro power

generation as well as transportation through waterways.

Social Impact: Drought has its direct impact on the people and the society and many indirect

long term impact. For our basic daily activities including cooking, eating, bathing and cleaning

we need water, thus its shortage or lack of it can directly impact our lives.

Water is directly related to our health as well, we need clean and fresh water for drinking and

cooking. Polluted and stale water can cause serious health implications and spread diseases

across the society.

Due to lack of water supply agricultural and live stocks production takes a hitting causing lack of

food production. When the supply is low the price rises impacting the poor people of the society

most. Without proper watering of plants the quality of food also reduces and so does the

nutritional values of the food. This lower quality food supply affects health of both human and

animal and makes them vulnerable to diseases and health issues.

If drought conditions persist people prefer to migrate to other places leaving their property and at

times their families. Many farmers in case of agricultural droughts have to leave their farms and

take up odd jobs in other areas or towns.

Water, its supply and shortages have triggered many disputes between nations, states and

neighboring people. For instance, in India disputes between states regarding water is not very

uncommon like Kaveri river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Yamuna water

usage issues between Delhi, UP and Haryana etc. these disputes causes social unrest.

Environmental Impact: Drought like conditions impact the environment drastically. If the

rivers, streams and other water bodies do not get fresh water supply through precipitation or

melting snow the ecosystem of such aquatic bodies can be drastically impacted. Many water

borne organisms and animals dies due to lack of water supply. Lakes, Ponds and rivers, which

get replenished with fresh rain water might also die if shortage of precipitations last for longer

period. Soil erosion due to high temperature and dryness can remove the productive top soil

leading to lower biological production and land degradations. Many animals and organisms loses

their habitat threatening their extinctions.

Drought Mitigation and Management

1. Education and Awareness: People should be educated and informed about the causes

and impacts of drought in advance. Community leaders, NGO’s, schools, Colleges,

government officials etc. should be trained to educate general public about ill effects of

drought and steps to mitigate it. Knowledge about the problem can help the public to

create their own solutions. People in the governing authority should also gain knowledge

about the climatic conditions and regional landscapes so that natural disasters like

drought does not take them by surprise and policies can be defined well in advance to

tackle any such unwanted situation.

2. Pollution Control: In case of shortage of natural water supply through precipitation and

meteorological drought conditions people depend on the available water resources such

as rivers, lakes, ponds etc. for clean usable water. However, if these surface water or

ground water resources are polluted then problem escalates. Hence, government should

ensure that the surface and ground water sources are not polluted. Even people should be

educated about the problems of drought and the need for maintenance of clean water and

control of pollution.

3. Water and Soil conservation: Water conservation and soil conservation measures can

help in limiting the devastating impacts of drought. Water conservation methods such as

rainwater harvesting, surface runoff water collection, percolation ponds, proper planning

of water usages, dams and reservoir construction and proper management of well and

water channels limits the impact of meteorological drought conditions