agriculture review

What Is Draught, Causes & Effects

by aditya abhishek

Introduction

Drought is one of the most significant environmental challenges that farmers & agricultural producers face. It can lead to crop failure, reduced yields, etc.

What Is Draught

It is a phenomenon that occurs when there is a deficient supply of moisture in a region due to sub-normal, infrequent distribution of rainfall.

Meteorological drought

When the amount of rainfall received in a season is less than 25% of its long-term average value, it is considered a meteorological drought.

Hydrological drought

It refers to a scarcity of surface and sub-surface water supplies that leads to a shortage of water for normal & specific needs.

Agricultural drought

If there is 4 consequetive weeks of severe draught having rainfall scarcity of more than 50% of the long term average, then it is agricultural draught. 

Causes

According to NASA, global surface temperatures have risen by about 1 degree Celsius since the late 19th century. This led to increase in draught occurence. 

Deforestation

When trees are cut down, the amount of moisture in the soil decreases, leading to a reduction in rainfall. It lead to increase in draught occurence. 

Overuse

Human activities, such as agriculture, industry, and urbanization, require vast amounts of water, which can lead to depletion of water resources.

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