During short-term drought, declines in surface water flows can impact water supplies for agriculture, drinking water, hydropower production, navigation, recreation, and ecosystem habitats . In contrast, it may take a year or more before levels in wells (reflecting groundwater levels) reflect a shortage of rainfall.
What are the effects of drought?
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.
What are some of the short and long-term effects of droughts?
Short-term damage, caused by one dry spell, includes wilting, leaf scorch and some leaf loss . Long-term damage happens over a period of years and includes stunted growth, branch die-back and possible death of the plant.
What are the effects of a long-term drought?
During times of drought, vegetation is visibly dry, stream and river flows decline , water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. As drought persists, longer-term impacts can emerge, such as land subsidence, seawater intrusion, and damage to ecosystems.
What is the shortest drought?
The drought of 1980-82 was the least severe and had the shortest duration.
What are the causes and effects of drought?
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.
Social impacts include public safety, health, conflicts between people when there isn’t enough water to go around, and changes in lifestyle. Examples of social impacts include: Anxiety or depression about economic losses caused by drought . Health problems related to low water flows and poor water quality.
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.
What are two 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.
How can the impact of drought be reduced?
Cover Crops – Planting or maintaining vegetation, living or dead , will provide cover on the soil surface and reduce erosion. Low-water using plants like barley are typically used as cover crops during droughts.
What are the main causes of drought?
A lack of water in stores such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs and aquifers (water stored underground naturally) can lead to drought. Areas that rely on rainfall and surface water are more likely to experience drought. Surface water quickly evaporates in warm, dry conditions leading to an increased risk of drought.
What are the causes and consequences of droughts 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.
How do droughts affect human health?
Health effects associated with drought episodes are principally indirect and include the increased risk of infectious diseases and diarrheal pathologies, malnutrition, changes in the ecology of vector-borne diseases, cardiorespiratory affectations, serious mental health repercussions and greater risk of mortality ( ...
How long was the longest drought in history?
The longest drought identified by this method began in 1276 and lasted 38 years . The tree ring method identified 21 droughts lasting five or more years during the period from 1210 to 1958. The earliest drought recorded and observed in the United States was in 1621.
Will the drought ever end?
The droughts won’t all end at once . ... Drought experts largely agree that a wet season with strong, above-average precipitation will be enough to moisten the parched grounds in California and the Pacific Northwest, and to refill California’s dropping reservoirs.
How long does a drought last?
Several weeks, months, or even years may pass before people know that a drought is occurring. The end of a drought can occur as gradually as it began. Dry periods can last for 10 years or more . During the 1930’s, most of the United States was much drier than normal.
