DROUGHT What is drought? Why is it caused? Subsequent disasters caused by drought. What are the effects?

cts? Structural and Non Structural mitigation. Precautions.

 Precautions before and after the occurrence of drought.

A.[2]

What is drought?
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply whether surface or underground water. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below

average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy. In defining drought it is particularly important to distinguish between dryness and drought. Dryness is a constant feature of an arid area caused by the climate. The total area of arid

climate is estimated at about 42% of the Earths land. Drought, on the other hand, is a temporary phenomenon related to the failure of usual precipitation. It always results in temporary loss of water and plant resources. Perennial drought occurs only in extra-arid climates. The term seasonal drought characterizes seasonal reduction of rain in savanna, the Mediterranean, and the monsoon subtropics. The

periodic (seasonal) reduction of rain is called normal seasonal drought, and a dry period within a dry or wet season is called abnormal drought.

Why is it caused?
We already know that a drought occurs when not enough rain falls to the ground. However, water vapor condenses only if air rises into the colder

regions of the atmosphere. If the air doesnt rise, then no rain will form. When there is high air pressure, air falls instead of rising. With the air pressing down in a high pressure zone, no currents of water vapor are carried upward. As a result, no condensation occurs, and little rain falls to earth. In addition, high-pressure areas push clouds and air currents downward and away, resulting in sunny, cloudless weather.

Usually, however, we experience both high- and low-pressure systems. It is normal for a highpressure system to pass over an area and move on, being replaced by a low-pressure system. However, when a high-pressure system is stalled, the sunny weather can drag on for days. If it keeps on going, the result is a drought.

High-pressure systems can be stalled by jet streams, wide bands of fast-moving air (up to 335 miles per

hour) in the upper atmosphere. Masses of air that usually move from place to place can be locked in one area by jet streams. Unusual currents of cold and warm water in the ocean can also stall a high-pressure system. In the Pacific, a warm water current known as El Nino brings low-pressure systems that cause hurricanes and other violent storms to North America, while a cold water current known as La Nina brings

drought. In Asia, the opposite occurs, with El Nino bringing drought and La Nina stormy weather. Or droughts occur because water vapor is not brought by air currents to the right areas at the right times. Water that evaporates from the oceans is brought inland by wind to regions where it is needed. However, sometimes those winds are not strong enough. In the eastern United States, moisture is carried up from the Gulf of Mexico by northward blowing winds. This moisture is then

pushed by other winds until it reaches the Midwest. This water then falls to the ground, supporting the farms in that region. Howe ver, if the winds dont blow at the right time, in the right direction, or with enough force, the moisture falls in other areas and that Midwest region suffers from drought. A similar phenomenon occurs in southeast Asia. Usually, summer winds known as monsoons carry water vapor north from the Indian Ocean inland, providing desperately needed rain.

Sometimes, however, instead of blowing from north to south, they blow east to west. When that happens, the vapor doesnt leave the Indian Ocean and many people suffer from the resulting droughts. Mountains can prevent wind from blowing moisture to needed regions. As air is moving past a mountain range, it is forced to rise in order to pass over the peaks. However, as the air rises, it becomes colder and the vapor condenses into rain or snow. The rain then falls on that side of the mountain, known as

the windward side (the side that is turned toward the wind). When the air mass finally makes it over the mountain, it has lost much of its vapor. This is another reason why many deserts are found on the side of a mountain facing away from the ocean. This phenomenon is known as the rain shadow effect.

Subsequent disasters caused by drought.

Desertification Desertification is the process by which productive or habitable land becomes gradually more arid and less

capable of sustaining vegetation, eventually turning into desert. It is often a cause of long-term disasters. Crop failure, food shortages, malnutrition and famine Food shortages result from an abnormal reduction in crop yield, such that it is insufficient to meet the nutritional or economic needs of the community. Drought-induced food shortages mean many people, in particular pregnant and lactating women, infants

and children, lack a sufficient balance of nutrients for health and well-being. Famine is a catastrophic food shortage affecting large numbers of people, brought on by climatic, environmental or socio-economic factors. Famine may lead to widespread death, disease and displacement. Epidemics In turn, poor nutrition lowers people's resistance to disease and increases the risk of outbreaks of

preventable diseases. Water shortages, which force people to use unsafe water, favour the spread of water-borne diseases. Population displacement Food-security problems may prompt people to move to other areas. For example, rural populations may migrate to the outskirts of towns in search of better conditions. Or else, large settlements of displaced people may form, increasing the likelihood of outbreaks of disease.

Complex emergencies/conflicts Mass migration from drought-affected areas can provoke tensions in host communities by creating competition for scarce natural resources, such as land or water.

Red Cross Red Crescent response In general, the Red Cross Red Crescent response to drought and food insecurity prioritizes the provision

of food, safe water and basic sanitation, basic health services, along with food-security surveillance and nutritional monitoring. In parallel, programmes are implemented to preserve and restore livelihoods. Such assistance may take the following forms:

distribution of seeds, tools and fertilizer; destocking or restocking of livestock; distribution of livestock fodder;

support to pastoralists in transporting livestock to alternative grazing areas during severe dry spells; income-generating schemes that enable people to diversify their sources of income on a small scale; training and education in relevant skills, for example in carpentry or bicycle repair, to enable people to earn an income; vegetable-gardening, poultry and fish-pond projects; small-scale irrigation schemes.

It is also important to ensure that populations have access to safe water and basic sanitation in times of drought, as wells and other groundwater supplies dry up or become polluted. The International Federation is committed to reducing vulnerability to drought by enhancing the availability of and access to food and by increasing communities resilience so that they are better able to deal with food insecurity.

Since 1919, the International Federation has responded to over 200 cases of drought, famine and food insecurity.

What are the effects?

Economic Loss of national economic growth, slowing down of economic development

Damage to crop quality, less food Increase in food prices Increased importation of food (higher Insect infestation Plant disease Loss from dairy and livestock production Unavailability of water and feed for

production

costs)

livestock which leads to high livestock mortality rates

Disruption of reproduction cycles Increased predation Range fires and Wildland fires Damage to fish habitat, loss from fishery Income loss for farmers and others Unemployment from production declines Loss to recreational and tourism

(breeding delays or unfilled pregnancies)

production affected

industry

Loss of hydroelectric power Loss of navigability of rivers and canals.

Environmental Increased desertification-Damage to Reduction and degradation of fish and Lack of feed and drinking water Disease Increased predation animal species wildlife habitat

 Social

Loss of wildlife in some areas and too Increased stress to endangered species Damage to plant species Increased number and severity of fires Wind and water erosion of soils.

many in others

Food shortages Loss of human life from food shortages,

heat, suicides, violence

Mental and physical stress Water user conflicts Political conflicts Social unrest Public dissatisfaction with government Inequity in the distribution of drought Loss of cultural sites Reduced quality of life which leads to

regarding drought response relief

changes in lifestyle

Increased poverty Population migrations

Structural and nonstructural mitigation

Drought mitigation can be performed through the combined efforts of local and regional management programs and the planning for and implementation of structural and non-structural projects. The types of

impacts caused by drought, coupled with ever changing water supply and demand factors, existing local and regional management programs may not allow for adequate protection of businesses and individual citizens. Longer range planning and implementation of structural and/or non-structural projects may be needed as conditions change to provide adequate drought protection.

Steps for avoiding drought

1. 2. Clear dry debris from around the buildings. Assuming that adequate rain has fallen, make Any dry grass or vegetation is a fire hazard. sure you have adequate storage facilities for the rain until the next drought. Investment in more tanks or build more dams.

3.

Not knowing what property you are on it is

hard to give advice but if you have water ways on the property, make sure they too, are free of dead vegetation. 4. There is an old adage that says "Put it away for a rainy day", if you live in a drought prone area then you would have to "Put it away for the next drought" - crops, feed, money, water storage. 5. The long term measures are afforestation to increase the content of air moisture, to increase

the amount of precipitation, to increase the rate of infiltration of rainwater to increase the level of water table, introduction of dry- farming techniques to reduce the dependence of farming on rain water, and introduction of water conservation schemes.

Structural and non-structural mitigation

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