Effects of Drought | Causes And Control

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Hi, welcome to this blog on drought, effects of drought and control.

Table Of Contents

  1. Meaning of drought
  2. Areas affected by drought.
  3. Causes of drought
  4. Effects of drought.
  5. Control of drought.
  6. Revision Questions

Meaning Of Drought

Meaning: Drought can be defined as a state of prolonged and abnormal moisture of deficiency and a general state of dryness. In other words, it refers to the absence of rain which is long enough to cause total dryness in an area.

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Areas Affected By Drought

Areas often affected by drought includes sahelian region, such as Senegambia, Mali, southern Mauritania, Burkina Faso, northern Ghana, Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger Republic; (i) dessert area, e.g, Nambi desert, California desert region and Sahara desert.

Causes Of Drought

  • Absence of rainfall.
  • High rate of evapo-transpiration.
  • Low humidity.
  • Low cloud cover.
  • Changes in weather and climate.
  • High daily temperature without a corresponding rainfall.

Effects Of Drought

  • Drought threats plant life which leads to crop failure.
  • Surface streams or Rivers may dry up.
  • It affect human beings and livestock.
  • It requires the planting of low moisture requirement crops.
  • It may lead to migration of man and animals.
  • It makes land lose its biological and economic value.
  • It causes reduction in agricultural productivity.
  • It creates refugee problem.
  • It causes conflict between Farmers and pastoralists.
  • It leads to farming (hunger).
  • It can lead to malnutrition. [Visit here for full details on Malnutrition].
  • It can lead to scarcity of food.
  • It can also lead to drying up of water bodies, e.g, streams.
  • It can also lead to desertification.

Control Of Drought

There are three main method of controlling drought. These include: afforestation, irrigation and planting of cover crops.

  1. Afforestation: The planting of trees does encourage formation of rain.
  2. Irrigation: The artificial application of water to soil encourages the growth of plants. [ visit here for importance of irrigation].
  3. Planting of cover crops: This reduce evaporation and retain water in the soil.
  4. Avoidance of overgrazing.
  5. Drought resistant trees and crops should be planted.
  6. Legumes and grasses can be planted.
  7. There should be artificial stimulation or cloud seeding.
  8. The use of firewood should be discouraged.
  9. The green belt can be created.
  10. There should be an improvement in methods of farming.
  11. Environmental awareness should be created.
  12. Cutting of trees and Bush burning should be controlled or restricted.
  13. There should be cloud seeding or artificial rainfall.
  14. There should be environment education.
  15. There should be legislation against cutting of trees and Bush burning.

Revision Questions

  1. What is the meaning of drought? (a) Name two areas affected by drought. (b) Explain any three effects of drought. (c) suggest three ways in which drought can be reduced. (Tips, on control of drought).
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