Summary

This section of the module has focused on drought because drought is a significant and frequent contributing cause of famine. In order to increase your understanding of the drought phenomenon, the module identified three types of drought - hydrological, meteorological and agricultural. Although scientists have postulated many underlying causes of rainfall declines, knowledge is still incomplete. Even so, rainfall tends to vary in multi-year cycles. This creates expectations both on the part of human populations and the scientific community regarding yearly rainfall levels. It is important in determining whether rainfall is below the normal levels to specify how the normal expectation is determined.

Even though areas experience significant reductions in available water supply, factors, which include the planting behavior of farmers, soil types, spacing of rainfall, and extent of irrigation, cause variations in the extent to which reduced rainfall results in reduced crop yields. Other social and economic factors also influence how communities and individuals are affected by drought. Nevertheless, droughts invariably have widespread impact on individuals, households, communities, and countries.