Drought: Overview

Droughts are defined as an extreme dry periodic climate where the availability of water falls below a theoretical statistical level. Droughts are not purely synthetic or natural disasters. In fact, they occur due to the interplay between the natural availability of water and the human demands for water supply.

Since droughts and their ramifications are quite dependent on the international community and individual government to mitigate, there is no real classification system. However, there are three different types of droughts, a system devised to describe the conditions in which the droughts form.

The first type of drought is the meteorological drought which is caused when there is a protracted period with less than average precipitation. Additionally, this type of drought is most commonly referred to in terms of colloquial discussion.

Since droughts and their ramifications are quite dependent on the international community and individual government to mitigate, there is no real classification system.

Agricultural drought is caused when there is not enough moisture for crop production. This particular type of drought can be created due to both soil conditions and human land development techniques.

The third type of drought is hydrologic drought, caused when water reserves in sources such as lakes and reservoirs fall below their critical average. Even in times of above average precipitation, this type of drought can occur when increase water usage diminishes the amount of water in reserves. In the context of urban planning, this type of drought should be considered more.