A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. 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[1] and harm the local economy
Causes
Generally, rainfall is related to the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere, combined with the upward forcing of the air mass containing that water vapour. If either of these are reduced,the result is a drought. Factors include:
• Winds, carrying low moisture content
• Deforestation and erosion adversly impacting the ability of the land to capture water; [23]
• High dry temperature, the semi-arid dry lands have very high day temperature during summer which causes evaporation of soil moisture.
• Exploitation of ground, which is drained for domestic, agricultural and industrial purpose.
• Low moisture retention capacity of soil.
Impacts or Consequences
Periods of drought can have significant environmental, agricultural, health, economic and social consequences. Examples include:
• Death livestock and other animals of the area.
• Reduced crop yields.
• Shortage of water for industrial, domestic uses and for drinking.[29][30]
• Dust storms, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification and erosion
• Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases.
• Famine due to lack of water for irrigation.
• Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees.
• War over natural resources, including water and food.
• Reduced electricity production due to insufficient available coolant for power stations[31] and reduced water flow through hydroelectric dams.[32]
• Drought can also reduce water quality, because lower water flows reduce dilution of pollutants and increase contamination of...