The lack of rain can result in crop loss , a decrease in land prices, and unemployment due to declines in production. As water levels in rivers and lakes fall, water-supply problems can develop.
How can a drought affect an area?
Examples of drought impacts on society include anxiety or depression about economic losses , conflicts when there is not enough water, reduced incomes, fewer recreational activities, higher incidents of heat stroke, and even loss of human life. Drought conditions can also provide a substantial increase in wildfire risk.
How do droughts affect the environment?
In addition to the economy, drought also affects the environment and society. Plants and animals depend on water, just as people do. Drought can shrink their food supplies and damage their habitats . Sometimes this damage is only temporary, and other times it is irreversible.
What are effects of droughts?
Drought can also cause long-term public health problems, including: Shortages of drinking water and poor quality drinking water . Impacts on air quality , sanitation and hygiene, and food and nutrition. More disease, such as West Nile Virus carried by mosquitoes breeding in stagnant water.
What is a drought GCSE geography?
Droughts occur when there is abnormally low rainfall for an extended period of time . This means that a desert would not be considered in drought unless it had less rainfall than normal, for a long period of time. Droughts can last from weeks to months and even years.
What are 5 causes of drought?
- 1) Land and water temperatures cause drought. ...
- 2) Air circulation and weather patterns also cause drought. ...
- 3) Soil moisture levels also contribute to drought. ...
- 4) Drought can also be a supply and demand of water issue.
How can we prevent droughts?
- Check your well pump periodically. ...
- Plant native and/or drought-tolerant grasses, ground covers, shrubs, and trees, or small plants. ...
- Install irrigation devices that are the most water efficient for each use, such as micro and drip irrigation, and soaker hoses.
- Use mulch to retain moisture in the soil.
What are the causes and effects of droughts?
The soil starts drying out and plants die . When this pattern continues for several weeks, months or years, the flow of streams and rivers decreases and water levels in lakes, reservoirs and wells fall. Eventually, the unusual dry weather causes water supply issues, and the dry period becomes a drought.
What are the main causes of drought?
Droughts are caused by low precipitation over an extended period of time . Atmospheric conditions such as climate change, ocean temperatures, changes in the jet stream, and changes in the local landscape are all factors that contribute to drought.
Who is responsible for drought?
Answer Expert Verified. Human beings are responsible for the drought in Maharashtra in 2016. According to the water conservationist Rajendra Singh, the drought primarily occurred because the Indian Government lacked a serious attitude regarding water security.
Are droughts affected by human activity?
Widespread cutting down of trees for fuel – This reduces the soil’s ability to hold water – drying out the ground, triggering desertification and leading to drought. Constructing a dam on a large river – This may help provide electricity and water to irrigate farmland near the reservoir.
How does climate change cause drought?
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. Climate change is also altering the timing of water availability.
What are characteristics of a drought?
Drought – less rainfall than is expected over an extended period of time, usually several months or longer . Or, more formally, it is a deficiency of rainfall over a period of time, resulting in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector.
What are the causes and consequences of droughts and desertification?
The resultant effects of drought are exacerbated by human activities such as deforestation , overgrazing and poor cropping methods, which reduce water retention of the soil, and improper soil conservation techniques, which lead to soil degradation.
What are the causes of drought and desertification?
Drought and desertification are closely related phenomena. ... Inappropriate land use, such as monocultures, and unsustainable land management practices , such as deforestation, unsuitable agricultural practices and overexploitation of water resources), can cause land degradation that can be further aggravated by drought.
What time of year does a drought occur?
Even if the total amount of rainfall for a year is about average, rainfall shortages can occur during a period when moisture is critically needed for plant growth, such as in the early summer . When little or no rain falls, soils can dry out and plants can die.
