DROUGHTS

What is it?
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.
How it happens?
Droughts are caused by lack of rain over a long period of time. If rain does occur it usually isn't
enough for the ground to absorb before it is evaporated again. Plants and animals need water to
survive, so if there is not enough water they will eventually die from thirst and dehydration.
Water is one of the main ingredients in the food chain, for example: If a plant dies from lack of
water then the animal that eats that plant will also die, the cycle will then continue to die out.
Its effect
Because drought is to dry and hot plants cannot survive without water and animals cannot
survive without plants, water and other living creatures. So drought has a great effect on the
food chain. If a drought is really long, measures are taken to help save the water. When a
drought is that bad drastic measures such as never washing your car or only having one shower
per day are not much fun and can sometimes lead to uncleanly environments which can cause
bacterial related diseases and infections.
Types of drought
Meteorological drought is brought about when there is a prolonged period with less than average
precipitation. Meteorological drought usually precedes the other kinds of drought.
Agricultural droughts are droughts that affect crop production or the ecology of the range. This
condition can also arise independently from any change in precipitation levels when soil
conditions and erosion triggered by poorly planned agricultural endeavors cause a shortfall in
water available to the crops. However, in a traditional drought, it is caused by an extended
period of below average precipitation.
Hydrological drought is brought about when the water reserves available in sources such as
aquifers, lakes and reservoirs fall below the statistical average. Hydrological drought tends to
show up more slowly because it involves stored water that is used but not replenished. Like an
agricultural drought, this can be triggered by more than just a loss of rainfall.
Where can you find them?
Angola, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho,
Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan, Swazi, Tanzania, Uganda,
Djibouti in Africa, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, Nepal, Syria, Tajikistan in Asia,
Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, USA, Canada, in America and
Australia in Oceania.
The Dust Bowl
Also called the Great Drought, is synonymous with the 1930s and the central plains of the United
States. The drought itself extended from 1934 to 1941 and affected two-thirds of the country,
from the Rockies to the Appalachians. Two of the driest years on record in the U.S., 1934 and
1936, occurred during this time. The dust was the rich Great Plains topsoil that had dried and
was picked up by strong surface winds, some of it blowing all the way to the East Coast. The
term "Dust Bowl" referred to the area of eastern Colorado and New Mexico, west Texas, and most
of Oklahoma, and Kansas.
On April 14, 1935, a dust storm engulfed Stratford, Texas, and actually suffocated some
residents. The day was referred to as "Black Sunday." During the summer of 1936, at least four
major dust storms swept the central Great Plains. Poor ranching and agricultural practices, the

below normal rainfall, along with very high temperatures and strong winds, all contributed to the
"Dust Bowl."