Drought: A Natural And Dangerous Disaster
Drought Essay in English The most natural occurring disaster in India is drought. It is a detrimental condition that impacts the quality of life negatively. It is known to be a natural disaster but with endless dangerous effects. Let’s discuss how drought can be caused, what is its impact, which areas are more prone to droughts, the types of drought, how to prevent droughts, and a lot more:
Drought Essay in English
Drought Essay 1000 Words
Paragraph on Drought
Drought is a condition, which can simply be defined as a natural calamity. It is a result of the precipitation in a specific area below average that results in extended periods of water supply shortage, whether it is surface water, groundwater, or rainfall water.
The duration of droughts can be of many months or even years. There is a huge impact of droughts on the agriculture and ecosystem of a specific region. Of course, it can harm the economic aspects of a particular region.
According to the study, it has been found that the possibility of droughts and bush fires is increased to a great extent by the dry seasons yearly. The conditions of droughts are considerably worsened by extended heat periods, which is an outcome of the accelerated evaporation of water vapors.
- Also Read: Clean India Healthy India Essay
What are the causes of drought?
There are many causes of drought. It can occur due to many reasons.
- The primary reason for drought occurrence is deforestation. These days, trees are being cut for development purposes. But when there will be no trees, the water on the ground will evaporate at a fast pace.
- At the same time, it also decreases the capacity of the soil to hold water, which results in evaporation. Additionally, lesser trees also mean reduced or no rainfall at all. All of these conditions can lead to drought.
- There may be other reasons behind the occurrence of drought. As the climate is altering due to lots of reasons, the water bodies are drying up, which results in a reduced flow of surface water. Hence, when the surface water bodies like lakes and rivers will dry out, how people will fulfill their necessity for water?
- Another reason for drought is global warming. The greenhouse gases emitted affect the temperature on earth and increase to a great extent. It leads to greater evaporation rates.
- Excessive irrigation is also a big cause of droughts. If people will use water irresponsibly, then it will dry up the surface water. As it does not get sufficient time to replenish, it leads to the condition of drought.
What is the effect of droughts?
It is a serious situation, which influences wildlife, mankind, and vegetation as a whole. A region where the drought occurs needs a lot of time for recovery. Moreover, it also tampers with the quality and functioning of life.
Drought has a major impact on the agriculture sector. Farmers suffer from a loss of livestock and crop production. At the same time, they deal with plant disease and wind erosion. This way, they may have to deal with hefty financial losses. Due to poor financial conditions, farmers end up in debts that can increase the rate of suicides and depression.
Moreover, wildlife also experiences the worst things. They do not get water to drink. There is a possibility of forest fire due to droughts, influencing wildlife habitat and life negatively. When this natural disaster takes place, there is a rise in the price of basic products. Afterward, droughts also destroy the quality of the soil, which leads to no or poor crop yielding.
So, basically, the impact of drought can be grouped into 3 main categories:
- Social effects
- Environmental effects
- Economic effects
In the condition of drought, it can lead to wildfires, wars, social unrest, and reduction in mass migration, electricity production, famine, hunger, and much more.
Which areas are drought-prone in India?
- West Rajasthan
- Kutch regions of Gujarat
- Western Orissa
- Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Interior Karnataka
- Rayalsema
- Bihar
- Uttar Pradesh
Types of Drought
Due to droughts, different conditions in surroundings get worsened gradually, affecting the entire region negatively. A region may suffer from 3 major types of droughts, these are:
Meteorological drought:
This drought type occurs anytime when there is an extended period of below-average precipitation or rainfall. It is a common type of drought and can happen the most.
Agriculture drought:
This drought condition impacts the ecology and crop production in a specific area. It can also take place independently when there is a change in the levels of precipitation because of erosion and soil conditions, which are triggered by agricultural activities when these are planned poorly.
It all results in a reduction in the amount of water for the usage of crops. However, traditional droughts occur when there is below-average precipitation.
Hydrological drought:
It is a kind of drought that takes place when there is a reduction of water amount below average in the water reserves such as lakes, reservoirs, and aquifers. Such conditions demand a lot of time to recover since it is all about dealing with stored water that has been used and is still not replenished.
How to prevent and control droughts?
We may take some preventive measures that will genuinely help in preventing drought-like conditions in many areas of India. Check out some preventive measures that we can follow to control and prevent droughts:
- Cloud Seeding
- Building of dams
- Desalination
- The usage of land properly
- Monitoring droughts properly
- Rainwater harvesting
- Utilization of recycled water
- Restriction of water usage for outdoors
Another thing we can do is to promote small-scale and cottage industries to decrease their dependence on agriculture. Moreover, we must work on increasing the forest cover by plantation.
Conclusion of Drought
In the end, we can say that drought can be very unfavorable to the ecosystem and economy of a specific area with other effects as well. This is why it is extremely important for us to do our best to fight against drought conditions. It would be better to execute methods of mitigation and drought relief.