Exploring What a Drought Is Essay
Essay on Drought as a Natural Disaster
California Drought Essay
Persuasive Essay On Drought
Essay Effects on Drought
Droughts in Chad Essay
Central Valley Drought
Essay On California Drought
Blooming Together_ Growing a Community Garden Worksheet.docx
Essay On Drought
1. Exploring What a Drought Is Essay
Exploring What a Drought Is
Drought is a long period of dry weather when there is no rainfall at all for weeks, months or even
years. Rivers and streams stop flowing. Water in pools, ponds, or reservoirs dries out. Plants die.
Drought becomes a natural disaster. Some droughts occur for a very long period of time, and cause
great hardship to people, plants and animals. Every year, droughts take place in many parts of the
world, mostly in deserts. People plan for drought be storing water in wells, water tanks, etc. and by
growing crops that can stay alive in hot and dry weather.
How does drought effect the people?
When drought occurs, lakes, rivers, and wells dry up. In the hot and...show more content...
В§ Permanent drought occurs in dry desert regions. There is hardly any rainfall, therefore deserts
have drought all the time. However, desert people are good are surviving in these areas because they
are used to the dry conditions and harsh environment.
В§ Seasonal drought is a feature of places which are very dry for most of the year, with a short
rainy season. Droughts here are predictable. For example, the countries around the Mediterranean
Sea have rains in winter and drought in summer.
В§ Contingent drought occurs when the rainy season is very short. There is little rain, and sometimes
it does not rain at all.
В§ Unpredictable drought is found in areas where sudden rainfalls or rainbursts can be quite heavy
but can't be predicted.
В§ Invisible drought is the effect of scanty rainfall which harms crops and wildlife but does not
completely destroy them.
Causes and Physical processes of drought
No one really knows why droughts happen. They could be affected by the shape of the land, by
ocean currents, or by how moist the soil is. For example, The Kalahari and Sahara deserts in Africa
are so far away from in land that no rains can reach them. Some people believe that drought is
caused by a change in weather patterns and climate, including global warming and El Nino. El Nino
is the shifting of warm water and a wet climate from the western to the eastern side of
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2. Essay on Drought as a Natural Disaster
Drought as a natural disaster has severe impact on the land resources and human society.
Additionally, the demand for land and water resources by human or bad management increases its
risk. To evaluate and identify the trend of drought event, having its spatial distribution is necessary.
In this case, remote sensing data are vital, particularly in arid or semiarid lands, where few
meteorology stations are located in. In the remote areas like desert, there exist no stations. In this
research, two kinds of remote sensing indices are used; first is the Thermal Condition Index (TCI)
based on the Land Surface Temperature (LST), and the second one shows the Vegetation Condition
Index (VCI) based the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)....show more content...
This action is partially dependent on soil types. In other words, in the survey of drought by NDVI,
there is lag time between the onset of a drought event and the drought–related evidence on the
growing plant. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the other environmental factors, such as the
amount of water holding capacity of soil, to interpret the relationship between NDVI and rainfall. As
it is a fact, the sandy soils hold low amount moisture and they are drier than other soil textures
(Thenkabail et al., 2004).
In earth sciences, the study of desert and desertification is considered as an interdisciplinary science
that helps others, including geology, watershed management, and soil science. Then each might have
a particular point of view, which is initiated from their perspective in the study of the phenomenon of
desertification and desert features. Remote sensing is a versatile tool in the investigation of
desertification, which plays an important role in the evaluation of climate and environment
processes. The digital satellite images have also useful to identify the characteristics of drylands.
Therefore, digital images, based on spectral reflectance and thermal radiation (Alavi Panah et al.,
2008; Alavipanah et al., 2007c)ШЊ, are helpful to study the significant contributing factors in
desertification processes and their severities (Alavipanah et al., 2007a, 2004a).
In this research, the temporal and spatial variations of thermal and spectral
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3. California Drought Essay
California state and some other west regions face the problem of severe drought and the researchers
show several reasons to explain this phenomena. According to research in weather data for the past
century, in terms of overall precipitation and spring snowpack, the past three years are not
record–breakers and paleoclimate studies show that the current drought is not exceptional given the
natural variations in precipitation of the past seven centuries. It cannot thoroughly attribute drought to
global warming. California may be faced a future of "perfect drought" because of following reasons.
Rising heat increases the evaporation, continuing depletion of ground water, and growing water
shortages on the Colorado River [1]. It is predictable...show more content...
In my opinion, the affordable water solution includes two main directions: Taps new resource and
reduces expenses of water. There are many ways to create the new water resource and the feasible
methods are 1. Building desalination plants 2. Building new the dams 3. Rain harvesting system.
California has very long coastline and it provides the very great opportunity to utilize sea water to
generate drinking water by desalination plants. NBC news "Solutions to California's Water Crisis
from Half a World Away" showed the interesting comparing data between California and Israel in
table 1 [2]. The desalination plants will contribute large amount of water to California's drought.
We need to consider if low snowpack and high temperature will happen frequently in the future, this
is a right time to make a foresight plan to build the desalination plants. If the weather is still
drought, agriculture must pump more water away from aquifer. There is not only the land is
sinking but also influence the eco system. Second, building a new dam to storage water may be
prudence. According to "Opinion Some dam questions about the California drought" on Los Angeles
Times, building dam is get us to ready for next drought and one that was finalized in Sacramento last
month and is going to voters Nov.
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4. Persuasive Essay On Drought
Fresh water is one of the basic needs and essentials of all living things. Although, we all utilize it
differently, we use it in an everyday basis. Without water, it is simply said in five words that
"there would be no life." As most know today, California is currently in the midst of a drought for
about four years now and it is becoming worst and worst, which is a severe problem. The problem
is formidable, however many can care less. Although, being in a drought is surely an environmental
issue, it is our responsibility to be mindful and cautious about this issue. Evidence to support this
states from the National Drought Mitigation Center states "People can also play a big role in
drought. If we use too much water during times of normal
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5. Essay Effects on Drought
Effects on Drought
Drought has long been recognized as one of the most insidious causes of human misery. It has today
the unfortunate distinction of being the natural disaster that annually claims the most victims. Its
ability to cause widespread misery is actually increasing. While generally associated with semiarid
climates, drought can occur in areas that normally enjoy adequate rainfall and moisture levels. In the
broadest sense, any lack of water for the normal needs of agriculture, livestock, industry, or human
population may be termed a drought. The cause may be lack of supply, contamination of supply,
inadequate storage or conveyance facilities, or abnormal demand. Drought, as commonly...show
more content...
This led to overgrazing, continuous cropping, and lowering of the groundwater table. Thus, the
sharply lower rainfall of 1972 and 1973 served to increase a degenerative process that was already
underway. While attention has been focused on the magnitude of human suffering, the drought's
impact on the economy has been equally profound. In real terms, the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of Chad was down nine percent in 1973, the worst year of the drought. The loss in real
economic growth was a devastating setback for Chad; its 1975 per capita Gross National Product
(GNP) of $120 ranked Chad as one of the lowest income countries in the world. One of the greatest
effects of the drought was on livestock production, an important source of income, employment, and
exports in Chad. The national herd of 4.7 million cattle, goats, and sheep was reduced by one half,
and the remaining animals suffered from malnutrition and disease. Because of the importance
livestock played as a foreign exchange earner, the losses had a severe impact on the budgetary and
balance of payments situations. Population and employment also registered the effects of the
disaster. About half of the population of four million lived in the Sahelian zone. As the drought
persisted, many people migrated in search of relief. Some followed their herds into neighboring
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6. Droughts in Chad Essay
Droughts in Chad
In our world, we are faced with many severe phenomenons. In the continent of Africa, droughts are
one of the many phenomenons that have been acknowledged. An African country like, Chad, located
east of Niger and southwest of Egypt, is a old victim of this phenomenon The Sahel regions,
consisting of countries like Chad, Mauritania, Mali, etc..., face droughts regularly. Half of the
country is in the Saharan Desert, while the other half, in the Sahel region. Its regular scarcity of
rainfall leads to droughts. According to Hydrological Sciences Journal, "West African Sahel has
experienced a significant drought which, according to some authors, corresponds to a discontinuity
(abrupt change) in the rainfall series"...show more content...
Figure 1 (NOAA/CPC RFE Climatology Method) demonstrates the average percent of the 2010
rainy season of the Sahelian region. The country, circled in red, Chad, an abnormality of average
rainfall, where more than 80% of the region receives 110%–140% of average rainfall, and the rest
(northern part) receives below 70% of average rainfall. A common effect of droughts is the mass
extinction of fish and drastic size change in its nearby lake, Lake Chad. Lake Chad is very shallow,
only about 5 to 8m deep, at that time, its surface area were approximately 25,000 square kilometers.
... from 1969 to 1972–73 having been a catastrophic years from a hydrological point of view, the
surface of the lake was reduced from about 22,000 square kilometers to 7,000 square kilometers,
thus drying up its northern part the thrust of the flow was not strong enough ... ("FISH
STATISTICS IN THE LAKE CHAD BASIN DURING THE DROUGHT (1969
–1976)" 203).
The drought that took place from 1969 to 1973 had a noticeable impact on Lake Chad, sinking to
nearly three times less than its original size. The northern part of the lake had an increase of caught
fish from 8,790 t to 26,862 t; this is due to the decrease of the water level. The southern part of the
lake also, greatly benefit from the drought, from 3,856 t to 10,235 t. During this period, the cast that
benefitted the most were the fishermen. They caught more fish
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7. Central Valley Drought
The drought has affected the central valley, in particular Fresno, for about four years because of
the lack of rain and the overuse of water in the communities. There is no real solution to fix the
issue of no rain, but in the City of Fresno, they implemented some regulations to aid in water
conservation. Some of these regulations included watering schedules in which certain addresses
are able to water their lawn on specific days during a certain time period. Also each household is
limited on the amount of water being they are able to use or risk the chance of being fined. The
central valley is known for its agriculture and many farmers in Fresno had to reduce the amount of
crops because of the drought. If rain does not come soon, then water
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8. Essay On California Drought
How do we halt a seemingly endless drought? California has many varying climates from the
chilly Sierra Mountains to the parched deserts of Death Valley, but today they all have one thing
in common: they are in a drought. The California drought has been a creeping phenomenon that
has taken a hold of the state for the past five years. There has been little rain, soaring temperatures,
and dropping water levels. The lack of water lead to severe water cuts, the spread of wildfire, and
thirsty crops. In order to end the drought, California must conserve water. Recycling water is an
effective way to save water. Recycling water is making wastewater into water people can safely use
to water their crops, use in the toilet, and even for drinking. Dirty wastewater is pumped through
pipes where they are filtered and exposed to ultraviolet light to remove bacteria and other molecules
that are not water. The Sacramento Bee states that, "The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation
District currently pumps out about 1,000 acre–feet of recycled water a year to parks and schools in
areas of Elk Grove near its treatment plant in southern Sacramento County" (Sangree). Creating safe
water from the wastewater, which the state usually pumps out, is a smart and efficient process of
supplying their cities with clean water. Not only is recycling water a...show more content...
Practicing good water saving techniques everyday will eventually save them gallons of water over
time. Small acts one can do are turning off the tap when it is not in use, using the dishwasher
instead of hand washing, not watering their lawns, and taking showers instead of baths. Friedman
wrote in Refinery29.com, "The average bath uses 35 to 50 gallons of water, but a 10–minute shower
with a low–flow showerhead only uses 25 gallons" (Friedman). Simply changing from baths to
showers can create a huge difference in a person's water usage. Everyday people can fight against
the drought at
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