GEOG306 Lecture 10: Drought Note

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Geography and Environmental Management
• Course: GEOG306
• Professor: Amber Silver

Document Summary

Drought: any unusual dry period, which results in a shortage of water. 250 mm rain over 3 days, nothing for 12 months after or 250 mm of rain over 12 months. Drought should be regarded as a process, rather than an acute event. Drought and famine are multi-year/country events, which makes accurate record keeping difficult. View water shortages in terms of resource need, rather than absolute amounts: 200mm of rain for semi-arid sheep farmer vs wheat farmer. Drought are often called creeping" hazards because they develop slow and have a prolong existence. Droughts are difficult to recognize, especially in early stages. Drought can occur anywhere, most often in semi-arid regions: Duration of drought is longer in the drier lands. Drought is a part of a complex emergency in ldc: confluct, poverty, food shortage, environmental degradation influence one another, example: drought can cause increased forced migration, which can trigger conflicts over territory and resources.