Drought: Its Causes and Effects (Cause and Effect Writing)

Drought is a long period of time during which there is very little water or no rain. It is a period of dryness especially when prolonged and it causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growths.

The major cause of droughts is the lack of underground water. It can be caused by meteorological conditions such as lack of rainfall or excess of heat or human factors, such as increased water demand or poor water management. Some causes also include rarity of rainfall, lack of facilities to complement of water during the period of rainy season, lack of properly developed rain-water harvesting methods, lack of proper planning to deal with the situation and the extensive deforestation and cutting of trees which reduces the ability of soil to hold the water. Drought conditions are often the result of climate change that causes higher temperature and unpredictable weather patterns. (http://ecology.about.com/od/Ecology/fl/Drought-What-Causes-It-and-How-Can-It-Be-Prevented.htm)

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), there are four different types of drought that vary depending upon their cause and duration. They are the meteorological drought, agricultural drought, hydrological drought and socioeconomic drought.

Drought can cause many different and devastating effects on communities and the surrounding environment. Its ravage depends upon the strength of the drought and the length of time that an area is considered to be in drought conditions. It has indeed a greater impact on poorer communities than the rich communities. However, it can still be severe on any type of community.

Drought has both an economic and environmental impact. Economic impact involves losing money either by individuals or families, businesses and governments. One example of economic effect resulting from drought is when farmers will have to spend more money to irrigate the crops and provide water for livestock on animal farms and ranches. They have to spend money to drill new wells or buy water in tankers from far places.

While environmental impact of drought affects plants, animals, climate, soil, rocks and many others. Some biotic and a biotic factors recover when the drought is over but others never recover. Soil moisture is the key for the breakdown of organic matter. Drought lowers the quality of soils because there is less organic activity.  Water bodies dry out and water animals die which results to habitat destruction. When aquatic animals die, the whole food chains and ecosystems are also affected. Animals could migrate long distances in order to search for water. They might end up in new habitats, making them weak and endangered while others face new threats.

Drought can also have a serious health, social, economic and political effect with extensive consequences. It may include hunger and famine, disease, wildfires and wildlife, social conflict war, electricity generation and migration or relocation.

Let’s go first with the hunger and famine. Having a condition of droughts often provide too little water to support food crops and affects grass and grains used to feed livestock and poultry. When drought occurs, it can destroy food sources so people go hungry. When the drought continues for a very long period of time and becomes severe, famine can happen.

Next is having a disease. Drought could also create a lack of clean water for drinking, public sanitation and personal hygiene, which can lead to a wide range of dangerous diseases. The problem of water access is critical. Every year, lots of people are sickened or die due to lack of clean water access and sanitation, and droughts only make the problem worse.

Another effect is on the wildfires and wildlife. Scarcity of water can create hazardous conditions in forests and across range of lands. Even plants generally adapted to dry conditions will drop leaves during drought which can cause to a layer of dead vegetation on the ground. This dry duff becomes a dangerous fuel for damaging wildfires. Wild animals and plants suffer from droughts even if they have some adaptations to dry conditions. In grasslands, sustained lack of rain decreases forage production, affecting herbivores, grain-eating birds, and indirectly, predators and scavengers. Droughts will lead to increased mortality and reduced reproduction, which is especially problematic for populations of at-risk species whose numbers are already very low.

Social conflict war could also be an effect. When water is in short supply due to drought and the insufficiency of water creates a conforming lack of food, there’s a possibility that people will compete. Worst, they would eventually fight and kill to secure enough water in order to survive.

The last one is migration. Migration is also one of the effects of drought conditions. People will migrate or transfer to other places to search of better living conditions. They will look for a new home with a better supply of water, enough food and without the disease and conflict that were present in the place they are leaving.

To prevent this condition, we people should be responsible enough to take good care of our environment. The solution to this kind of problem depends in our own hands. One way is we should discourage deforestation to increase the ability of the soil to hold water and also we should be educated regarding the importance of water so that we do not misuse the stored water. Lastly, our efforts should be made to preserve rain waters in various ways and tap ground water sources to meet unexpected drought situations.