Drought

Droughts occur when a long period of abnormally dry weather leads to a severe water shortage. Extreme weather conditions are not the only cause of droughts, however – they are often caused by the activity of man as well. Human activities that can help trigger droughts include:

• Constructing a dam on a large river may help provide electricity and water to irrigate farmland near the reservoir. But it may also cause drought downstream by severely reducing the flow of water.
• Widespread cutting down of trees for fuel reduces the soil’s ability to hold water, - drying out the ground, triggering desertificationdesertification: Desertification is the spread of desert conditions in arid regions due to human activities, drought or climate change., and leading to drought.

Effects of drought

Parched ground during drought in Namibia

• Droughts endanger people's lives and livelihoods through thirst, hunger (due to crops dying from lack of water) and the spread of disease.
• Millions of people died in the 20th century due to severe drought and famines. One of the worst hit areas was the Sahel region of Africa, which covers parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Sudan.
• Droughts and famines can have other geographical impacts - for example, forcing people to migrate to a new home, thus putting pressure on resources in neighbouring countries.
• Droughts can have severe impact in MEDCs as well as LEDCs. Droughts in Europe in recent years have caused deaths especially amongst the elderly. In the UK in summer 2006, there were hose pipe bans and campaigns to make people save water.