Drought is a natural phenomenon that happens when an area does not receive enough rain or snow over a long period of time. It can cause water supplies to decline, which impacts people and their livelihoods. The impact of droughts is felt globally, across many industries including agriculture, energy, and tourism.
The most obvious impact of a drought is that crops fail, which can lead to food shortages for humans and animals. The quality of life for people may also decrease if the natural beauty of an area changes, for example when bodies of water dry up and trees die.
Climate change is making droughts more frequent and severe. The reason is that as global temperatures rise, the natural water cycle is disrupted. This makes it harder for natural landscapes to replenish their water supply and to respond to heat waves. In addition, the increase in droughts puts more pressure on already vulnerable areas to produce and transport food.
The other reason why the number of droughts is increasing is that warmer winter temperatures mean less snowfall in certain regions, especially those that depend on winter snow as a source of water. This decrease in snowpack is a big problem because it reduces the amount of cold water that feeds streams and rivers and helps ecosystems function.
In addition, droughts cause economic losses for businesses, resulting in higher prices on products that are sourced from affected areas. For example, the 2012 California drought caused a price spike for lettuce, which had a ripple effect into other markets well away from the state.