Drought and Bad Water Supply - Coursework Example

of Drought and Bad Water Supply Drought is a climatic condition that causes moisture deficit, thus leading to an adverse effect on animals, people and vegetation over a given area. It is also a period of dry weather that is abnormal and long enough to cause a serious imbalance in the hydrological cycle, thus leading to water shortage in the supply and excess demand of water. Drought severity depends on moisture deficiency degree, duration and the coverage of the area that is affected. It is a gradual phenomenon that slowly by slowly affects an area and tightens its grip with time. In cases that are severe, droughts can last for years, and consequently cause devastating effects on water supply. Although drought has several causes and is associated with numerous negative consequences, it can be properly managed using various strategies. An Overview of Drought and Bad Water Supply Drought has a long history that can be traced as far back as the biblical times of Joseph. It is one of the earliest climatic events that are documented. Presently it is associated with the Epic of Gilgamesh and later the exodus of Israelites from Egypt. It has been there since the times of early man, in Africa and the rest of the world. In the modern society, it is possible for people to mitigate the impacts of drought through crop rotation and irrigation. If people fail to develop and implement mitigation strategies, drought and bad water supply they will incur grave costs. The worst droughts that have been experienced in the world are the droughts of 1980s and 1990s. The most severe and historical drought was experienced in the basin of river Simeto. Climate is what determines water supply. Temperatures of the air determine the level of water demand, while precipitation is the only source of renewing water. If people can clearly understand past climatic conditions, they can predict future conditions and hence adapt and limit the level of hardship faced during drought. It is evident that drought comes in a certain pattern that repeats itself seasonally, annually and inter-annually. Estimates by the United Nations indicate that one third of the world’s population is affected by water shortages (United Nations, 23). The UN states that about 1.1 billion people lack safe water for drinking and those without enough water for sanitation stand at 2.6 billion (United Nations, 23). Consequently, deaths and diseases have increased due to the use of contaminated water. Children from developing countries are the most affected with 3,900 of them dying everyday from diarrhea and insufficient or bad water related conditions (United Nations 24). More intense and frequent droughts have been reported in subtropics of Africa and Asia which hosts most of the poorest countries in the world. According to a climate report by the United Nations (104), Himalayas’ glaciers, the main source of big rivers in Asia, could dry by 2035 if the current trend with respect to temperature rise continues. The greatest threat to this condition is the increase in population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, which have resulted in a high increase in water demand coupled with serious environmental consequences. Types of Drought There are three types of drought; agricultural droughts, hydrological droughts and meteorological drought (Olga and Wilhite, 11). Agricultural droughts affect crop and animal production and are caused by factors independent of changes in levels of precipitation. These factors may be soil and erosion conditions which are caused by poor agricultural management causing insufficient water supply to crops. Hydrological drought on the other hand occurs when the amount of water in water bodies fall below average. It shows up very slowly because it uses water that is already stored, but which cannot be replenished. This kind of drought can be caused by factors other than low rainfall like diversion of water to other nations, as is the case with Kazakhstan. Lastly, meteorological drought is as a result of long periods of precipitation that is less than average. This type of drought precedes agricultural and hydrological droughts. Causes of Drought Rain is a result of precipitation which is associated with the amount of atmospheric water vapor. This water vapor comes from precipitation of water from the water bodies. If there is not enough water to give enough precipitation, the amount of rainfall received will be very little thus leading to drought. In many countries, water bodies are diminishing at an increasing rate, thus leading into low evaporation, precipitation and rainfall. Drought causes low rainfall and low rainfall causes drought. Oscillations of water bodies, such as El-Nino-Southern Oscillations and the Oscillations of North Atlantic, cause serious droughts in the world. Beyond doubt therefore, drought and water are mutually dependent as stated by Pantuliano and Pavanello (35). Human activities like deforestation, farming, erosion and excessive irrigation have an adverse effect on the ability of soil to capture water and hold it. On the other hand, activities that cause global climatic change trigger droughts thus affecting water supplies. As some areas experience drought, others experience floods and erosion. The proposed use of space sunshade to manage solar radiation is paradoxical as a solution for global warming (Olga and Wilhite, 74). This is because it has high chances of increasing drought and shortage of water supply. With present state industrialization, global warming has become a major cause of drought in the world (Olga and Wilhite, 76) Global warming has affected the hydrological cycle in many important ways. First, global warming has increased global temperatures, thus increasing the rates of evaporation to abnormal rates. On the other hand, it has caused the mountain glaciers and ice caps to melt too, at very high rates. Such factors have affected the hydrological cycle thus causing drought. Effects of Drought An effect of drought in a certain area depends on the vulnerability of the area according to the United Nations (37). Drought causes health, economic, social and agricultural consequences. Water is a basic commodity for human survival. Therefore, drought poses serious problems that are difficult and dangerous for human survival. Drought means famine and hunger as it provides too little or no water to support animals and crops. Drought destroys food and food sources, causing hunger. Severe drought lasting for a long period of time can cause serious famine, causing malnourishment and death. Drought also causes droughts to all living things, which require water for survival. People can better survive for sometimes without food, bur shortly without water. The other serious effect of drought is diseases. Diseases are caused by lack of sufficient and clean water for public sanitation, drinking, and personal hygiene which may result into life –threatening diseases. Diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and dysentery are caused by contaminated water, which result from water shortage because of drought. Such diseases have been very common in developing countries that are experiencing drought in Africa and Asia, (United Nations 87). These diseases have caused many deaths, especially among children and the aged. Drought also reduces the quality of water because when water flows on a very low level, it dissolves many pollutants thus increasing contamination of sources of water that are remaining. Furthermore, it lowers crop growth and production and livestock’s carrying capacity. It causes dust bowls and storms which enhance soil erosion. Additionally, it causes dehydration, and malnutrition besides low electricity production due to reduced water level in the hydroelectric dams. Snakes prefer dry and hot areas. Therefore, drought leads into increase in snakes and snake bites. Drought causes wildfire due to dry vegetation like in the case of the Australian bush fire. This consequently causes deaths of wild animals and increased soil erosion from loss of vegetation. This is a major cause of environmental degradation and loss of soil fertility. According to (Olga and Wilhite, 82), the greatest impact of drought on the economic sector is low industrialization. Water is a raw material for many industries and therefore lack of it in sufficient quantities causes many industries to close down or reduce their productive activities. This has a negative impact on the nation’s economy. Drought and insufficient clean water causes war and social conflicts. When water, a precious commodity, is in little supply due to drought, it creates insufficient food supply, and hence people compete for the little that is available. In order to secure enough water so that they can survive people fight and kill each other in social conflict. When the drought condition becomes more severe, some people resort to migration in search of food and clean water. They move from drought stricken areas to areas with enough supply of clean water and food. Diseases and sicknesses also cause people to migrate to free areas. Projected Water Scarcity by 2025 According to a United Nations report (213), it is projected that 1.8 billion people will be affected by drought and water shortages by 2025. This is because their regions or countries will have severe drought. The regions that will be most affected include Northern Africa and the Middle East which are already facing absolute water scarcity. Other countries that will bear the brunt of severe doubts will include India, China, South Africa and Pakistan. These countries will lack enough clean water and hence their medical problems will increase resulting in more deaths and diseases. This in turn will increase their dependency levels on developed countries in terms of imported food and medical facilities. Many lakes and rivers in Africa are drying slowly by slowly, due to drought. In Africa, about 200 million people are already in serious droughts and water shortages (United Nations 213). The UN report estimated that by 2025, about 230 million Africans will experience water shortage while 460 million people will live in countries that have serious water problems in Africa alone. Mitigation Strategies Mitigation strategies of drought include cloud seeding, which is an artificial technique of inducing rainfall. There is also desalination of water from sea for consumption and irrigation, as well as well planned land use systems to minimize erosion, and planting seeds that consume little water. Another strategy is monitoring the drought through continuous observation and comparison of rainfall (Wilhite 77). Wilhite further states that the observation of the current levels of water usage can help predict the water usage in the future hence making it easier to prepare in advance for droughts (77). Monitoring levels of moisture can help people predict future risks of drought using metrics like the Keetch-Bryam Drought Index according to Wilhite (79). Harvesting of rainwater from suitable catchments like roofs and storing it safely can greatly help in supplying clean water during drought. Additionally, recycling waste water through purification and treatment can allow the reuse of the under safe and adequate conditions. Building of canals and redirecting rivers to drought-prone areas can also ensure adequate water supply during periods of drought. Another mitigation strategy involves restriction of outdoor water-use by regulating sprinklers use, buckets or hoses on outdoor plants and other home maintenance tasks that are intensive (Wilhite 81). Coping with Drought and Low Water Supply in Agriculture Agriculture is an important player in the global economy. However, it is under threat from drought and bad water supply. Over the last few decades, droughts have been very popular worldwide with great negatives impacts on food security. Wilhite (85) lists planning, mitigation and monitoring of drought as the most helpful strategies to farmers in coping with drought. Some of the approaches that can be effectively applied in coping with drought in the agricultural sector are educating the communities on the importance of environmental conservation through activities such as afforestation, soil erosion control measure, rotational grazing among others. Even though drought is a natural part of the climate, it is also a natural hazard that needs proper management in order to prevent further adverse effects in the future. It is hazardous in both developed and developing countries but its impacts on the two settings differ (Wilhite 103). Understanding of drought by policy makers and scientists as well as the public can help a great deal in managing drought. Policy makers will be better equipped to formulate plans and policies that that will reduce future drought vulnerability. The most effective way of managing drought and bad water supply is through monitoring the trends of its occurrence and using the information to predict its occurrence in the future. Furthermore, after predicting the occurrence of drought, it is advisable that effective measures of controlling and reducing its impacts are taken in advance. Effective drought management includes public information and campaigns to educate people, drought emergency planning, restriction of water services, and augmentation management of water resources that are available, searching for new water supplies, among others. However, mitigation still remains to be the most effective strategy backed by prediction and early preparedness to signs of drought (Wilhite 103). This is what will help the world reduce the social, environmental and economic effects of drought. Costs of Drought Drought has many costs to the world’s population. Because it affects many people and sectors, the extents of environmental, personal and communal damages and financial costs of droughts and low water supply are difficult to establish on a global scale. However, between 1976 and 1988, the United States incurred $40 billion from the impacts of drought. Conclusion Drought is a prolonged dry period that causes water shortage hence, adverse effects on living things. It prevalence is fast increasing in developed and developing countries. Drought is caused by insufficient water conditions that fall below the average and human activities like deforestation. The effects of drought are hunger, famine, dehydration, diseases, deaths, social economic effects, environmental degradation among others. Though drought is a natural phenomenon, human beings have mitigation strategies that they can adopt to prevent adverse effects of drought and bad water supply. These include harvesting of rainwater, desalination of sea water, observing current trends of drought and predicting future strategies among others. In order to implement an effective drought management strategy, planning, forecasting, monitoring, and implementation of measures of mitigation, proper management of unforeseen emergency situations and recovery of damages caused by drought must be observed. Systems of drought monitoring and forecasting must be able to warn on the occurrence of a drought in the future, and procedures of its management based on simulation of water supply under different scenarios. Work Cited Olga, Vanyarkho and Wilhite, Donald Arnold. Drought: Pervasive Impacts of a Creeping Phenomenon, (Chapter 18). In Drought: A Global Assessment, ed. Donald A. Wilhite. London, U.K.: Routledge, 2000 Pantuliano, Sara and Sara Pavanello. Sensitivity of the Australian Monsoon to Insulation and vegetation: Implications for human impact on continental moisture balance. New York, Wiley press. 2009. United Nations. Global Environmental Outlook, (GEO), 2000. Observed on Dec 4, 2010 from http://www.google.co.ke/search?q=drought+and+water+supply&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Wilhite, Donald A. Planning for Drought: Moving from Crisis to Risk Management. Journal of American Water Resources Association 36 (2000):697–710. Read More