When drought occurs in such arid areas, the living conditions of local people become very difficult . In these conditions, the land yields no crops and water is insufficient for human consumption as well. People compete for the meager available resources.
Do droughts cause food shortages?
One of the reasons for undernourishment and hunger is drought, which reduces agricultural production leading to food insecurity situation. In half of the years of the twenty-first century, drought was the main cause of shortage in world grain production compared to its consumption, creating problem with food security.
How is drought responsible for famine explain?
Lack of rainfall leads to a lack of proper irrigation and the failure of crops . Thus, these consequences lead to famines. Many such conditions like lack of rainfall or drought had led to several famines in India 11th to 17th Century.
What is the relationship between drought and famine?
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, drought is defined as a period of dryness, especially when prolonged. Likewise, famine is defined as an extreme scarcity of food .
What caused mass starvation?
In the United States and other high-income countries, hunger is mainly caused by poverty that results from a lack of jobs or because jobs pay too little . Hunger rates rise when the national or local economy is in a slump. People lose jobs and cannot find work.
Is famine a man made or natural disaster?
Crop failures caused by natural disasters including poor weather, insect plagues, and plant diseases; crop destruction due to warfare; and enforced starvation as a political tool are some causative factors of famine. However, modern famines, like most of those throughout history, are manmade.
What are effects of drought?
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 are the causes of drought?
A drought is caused by drier than normal conditions that can eventually lead to water supply problems . Really hot temperatures can make a drought worse by evaporating moisture from the soil. But droughts don’t just happen in hot and dry places.
What is difference between flood and drought?
Droughts occur when an abnormally long dry period uses up available water resources . Floods happen when watercourses or rain swallow up land that is usually uncovered. These natural disasters are often made worse by human action. ... As it builds up on the surface, the water ends up causing widespread damage.
Drought is one of the causes of conflict. ... When drought occurs in such arid areas, the living conditions of local people become very difficult . In these conditions, the land yields no crops and water is insufficient for human consumption as well. People compete for the meager available resources.
Where is starvation The worst?
Today, famine is most widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa , but with exhaustion of food resources, overdrafting of groundwater, wars, internal struggles, and economic failure, famine continues to be a worldwide problem with hundreds of millions of people suffering.
What was the largest famine in history?
The ‘Great Leap Forward’-famine in China from 1959-61 was the single largest famine in history in terms of absolute numbers of deaths.
What would happen if there was a food shortage?
Besides the obvious problems of famine itself, the shortage of food is also likely to cause other problems such as conflict, mass migration, and even war . In the future, wars are likely to be fought over access to food and water resources. “the next world wars could be fought over resources like food and water”.
How are man made famine created?
Human events also lead to famine. A major human cause of famine is warfare . During war, crops are destroyed, either intentionally or as a result of combat. In addition, supply lines and routes are cut off, and food cannot be distributed or is prevented from being distributed by combatants.
What are the human made reasons for shortage of food?
- Poverty. Poverty is the main cause of hunger in the world. ...
- Job Instability. ...
- Food Shortages and Waste. ...
- Poor infrastructure. ...
- Unstable Markets. ...
- Climate Change. ...
- War and Conflict. ...
- Nutritional Quality.
Is drought a man made disaster?
While droughts occur naturally , human activity, such as water use and management, can exacerbate dry conditions. ... In the United States, drought is the second-most costly form of natural disaster (behind hurricanes), exacting an average toll of $9.6 billion in damage and loss per event.
