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.
How does drought affect our lives?
Who lives in the community, because some people are more affected by drought than others based on things like health conditions and age. What kind of water system the community has. What rules the community has about water use. Other economic and social factors.
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 and effects of drought?
Meteorological droughts occur when dry weather patterns dominate an area. Hydrological droughts refer to when low water supply becomes evident in the water systemAgricultural droughts happen when crops become affected by drought. Socioeconomic droughts occur when the supply and demand of various commodities is affected by drought., and more items.
Drought results from changes in Earth’s atmosphere. Some droughts are caused by shifts in the winds that normally bring rain to an area. Others are caused by changing ocean currents, which affect the temperature and moisture of the air. Severe droughts can last for months or years.
What is the main cause of drought?
More Droughts A drought is an extended period of dry weather caused by a lack of rain or snow. Some places are getting more rain or snow to make up for it, but other places are getting less.
They are: Meteorological drought – that is caused by shortage of precipitation or rainfall. Agricultural drought – that is caused by lack of moisture in the soil. Hydrological drought – that is caused by low levels of water in various water sources like rivers, lakes, etc. Socioeconomic drought – that is caused by shortage of tap and drinking water.
How does drought affect the economy?
A drought/food shortage will affect the nations economy as a whole by drastically increasing the price and value of food and transportation of that food. This increase will not allow most average citizens to purchase food for them and their families.
What happens when it rains during a drought?
A light rain shower might cause the grass and plants to green up. But if that water quickly evaporates into the air or is soaked up by plants, the drought relief doesn’t last long. A thunderstorm can bring lots of rain into a region, but often the rain comes so quickly that it goes into sewers and ditches instead of soaking into the soil.
This begs the inquiry “Do droughts just happen in hot and dry places?”
But droughts don’t just happen in hot and dry places. A close-up image of dry, cracked soil during a drought. Credit: Public Domain A drought is a prolonged period with less-than-average amounts of rain or snow in a particular region.
When rainfall is less than normal for a period of weeks to years, streamflows decline, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought. When does a drought begin and end ?