What Is A Drought?
A drought is a prolonged period of time during which there is significantly less water available than normal. A drought can last almost any amount of time, from a few weeks to several years, depending on the location. There are several things that can cause a drought: lack of moisture in the air, climate change, El Nino, and simple bad luck, as is especially the case in many short-term droughts.
Many places in the Horn of Africa, including countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan, are included in this area. The Middle East, landlocked parts of Australia, parts of India, and the Amazon Basin are prone to droughts. In Canada, the most drought-prone areas are the prairies and the western parts of BC.
However, it should be known that any place in the world can be hit by a drought at any time. The places listed above are essentially the most likely to get one, basically making them similar to the drought version of tornado alley.
There are three main types of drought. A meteorological drought, which is the most common, occurs when there is much less precipitation than normal. There is a hydrological drought, where places like reservoirs have less water than normal, and an agricultural drought, where crops have more difficulty growing due to a lack of water.
What Counts As A Drought?
It should be known that there is no clear definition of a drought. This is due to many reasons: the lack of uniform consistency in what is a ‘normal’ amount of precipitation in a certain area, and a large difference in how much a change in precipitation will impact the local area. Even two professional meteorologists might not be able to properly agree on what does and doesn’t count as a drought.
There are multiple ways that a drought can be measured, such as the Palmer Drought Severity Index, the Standard Precipitation Index and the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index. This makes droughts even more complicated to actively ‘measure’ effectively. It’s not like being able to use the Fujita Scale or Saffir Simpson Scale, where something like a simple wind speed can be measured in a way that won’t cause disputes among scientists. Some scales even use how moist the soil is, compared to how moist it should be to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Others use vegetation based on the current season.
Droughts, however, can be measured in ways like total precipitation throughout a certain amount of time, total days without precipitation, days in a row with precipitation below a certain amount, and more. Even the location can make a difference. One side of a city can get frequent rain, while the other remains dry, which can cause confusion among meteorologists, especially in the short term. Some cities might see a week of no rain, or a month with less than 10 days of rain, as cause for alarm. Other cities might see these as normal, or are used to getting only 3-5 or so days of precipitation per month, or even less. Canada, due to its large size, sees a large mix from city to city. Some cities even experience a dry season, which can be explained further by the Koppen Climate Classification. Others outright have a dry climate, changing expectations completely.
For this reason, measuring droughts is largely subjective. However, if a meteorologist declares a drought warning or watch, it is best to take some precautions and prepare for the impacts of the possible drought.
What Are The Impacts Of Drought?
The impact of a lack of rain or snow might not seem like such a bad thing. In fact, if you live in one of the rainiest cities in Canada, you might welcome a longer time without rain. However, the idea of less rain can have plenty of negative effects that you might not think about. This includes:
- A loss of vegetation, including crops for farmers, leading to economic impacts, such as an increase in food prices.
- Businesses depending on farming (tractor manufacturers, etc.) might struggle.
- Poor soil.
- Increased vulnerability to wildfires and similar disasters leading to an impact on the timber industry.
- Loss of wetlands.
- Lowering sea levels, and impacts on local water life.
- Hydroelectric companies may struggle.
- Increased susceptibility to heat waves.
- Health issues in those prone to heat stroke.
- Lower humidity.
Note that these are just some of the impacts. Poor areas might have an outright food shortage.
How Can You Prepare For A Drought?
A drought can be one of the sneakiest natural disasters. Unlike a tornado or hurricane, it won’t loudly announce itself, causing short-term destruction. It’s not like a blizzard that only happens during certain times of the year in most of Canada. A drought can happen without warning, and people might not even notice it until it’s already been dealing damage. It can also last for a prolonged period of time, being weeks or even months in some cases. Below are some ways to be prepared for a possible drought, if you expect to be hit by one, or simply want to be prepared just in case.
- Stock up on drinking water. Bottled water is likely a good idea in this case.
- Keep Non-perishable food ready.
- Repair your pipes and check for leaks, dripping faucets, and other inefficiencies in your water supply.
- Use water barrels to store rainwater before the drought to use for non-drinking means (i.e., showering)
- Use more efficient showerheads and similar tools.
- Minimise the use of non-essential water. Avoid long showers, and only wash clothes when your hamper is full. Avoid watering your lawn more often than needed.
- Use a more efficient water filter for your pool if you have one.
Note that there are more things you can do than this.
