Many droughts can be predicted up to a month in advance, 1,2 and in rare cases it may be possible to predict drought conditions more than a year in advance. 2 However, the complexity of Earth’s climate makes drought forecasting very difficult.
2004 tsunami in Indonesia: affected up to 5 million people2010 earthquake in Haiti: affected 3 million people. Current drought/famine/war in the Horn of Africa: affect 8 million people in 2018.
What are the factors that determine the duration of drought?
Whether or not a drought will occur (and how long it will last) depends on a huge number of factors including atmospheric and ocean circulation, soil moisture, topography, land surface processes, and interactions between the air, land, and ocean. 1,2 Predicting the occurrence, severity,.
This begs the inquiry “What should you do in a drought?”
You see, water manually in fall and winter only if needed. Use mulch around trees and plants to retain moisture in the soil. Mulch also helps control weeds that compete with plants for water. Invest in a weather-based irrigation controller —or a smart controller.
What is a drought and what causes it?
Because drought is defined as a deficit in water supply, it can be caused by a number of factors. The most important one though relates to the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere as this is what creates precipitation. More rain, sleet, hail, and snow can occur where there are moist, low-pressure air systems.
A frequent inquiry we ran across in our research was “Where can I find weekly drought conditions across the country?”.
Weekly drought conditions across the country are provided by the U. S. Drought Monitor, a government-university collaboration hosted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 4 The Drought Monitor also provides a number of other tools and resources, including maps that show changes in drought conditions over time.