Drought Australia

Drought

      Environmental hazards in particular drought represent a constant and serious challenge to the health, welfare and progress of human communities. A drought can be defined as a “prolonged, abnormally dry period when there is not enough water for the users’ normal needs” (Bureau of Meteorology, 2011).   Generally this occurs when a particular region persistently receives below average rainfall. This has a considerable impact on such things as the ecosystem and agriculture in the affected region. Droughts can last for several years or even a short time but intense drought causes a considerable amount of damage to the local economy. Rainfall is generally related to the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere and combined with the upward forcing of the air mass containing that water vapour. If either of these are reduced, it results in drought.

      A drought is classified when there is 15 consecutive days with less than 0.01 inches of rain. Once in a while it will rain, however storms or cloudbursts are brief and any precipitation that falls dries up very quickly. Small droughts occur every now and then, and these are not particularly harmful. Most occur in summer when hot and dry whether is standard. Sometimes drought can occur for moths, years or even decades.

The definition of drought can differ according to who measures it and what factors they look for, for example:
      - Meteorologists: monitor drought by looking at rainfall deficiencies
      - Agriculturalists: look to its effect upon primary industries
      - Hydrologists:   examine groundwater levels. Sociologists observe its impact   upon communities.

  Metrotological drought is the most obvious type: the rain stops or at least diminishes for a given length of time. In places where it normally rains throughout the year such as London or Fiji, you might see regular rain and still find yourself in a meteorological drought if the amounts don’t measure up. Since drought affects us...