Droughts can be very dangerous for many reasons. Plants and wildlife both rely on water to survive, since that is what they are primarily created of. When the rain simply does not fall, everything within the area will start to shrivel up and die off. Drought can seriously indent the food chain, and even effect us humans. When putting it simply, plants need water to survive: if plants have no water, they will die off. If plants die off, so will animals since some animals do eat the plants. The other portion of Carnivorous animals that eat other animals to survive will also be impacted, because other animals will be dying off from not having plants to eat. Ultimately, humans will be effected because they have neither plants nor animals to eat. Drought is a vicious cycle, that can majorly alter specific areas of the world in negative ways.
Droughts primarily strike dry, hot areas the hardest because they are already lacking rainfall. However, droughts can occur anywhere if it simply does not rain. There have been instances where droughts have lasted ten to fifteen years, as it did in the 1960’s. This can also be devastating on agriculture. Farmers depend on their crops to financially survive. If it doesn’t rain, crops don’t grow, and money cannot be made. Farmers with livestock also depend on crops to bring in food for the animals. If there is a drought, and crop production falls, odds are the crop prices will be higher. Therefore, it will be more expensive to feed animals. This can also put a serious dent in meat animal production, since crop prices and animal food prices go hand in hand.
Some of the worst droughts in United States history occurred along the east coast. During the periods of 1930-1932, a severe drought struck Maryland and the District of Columbia. Rainfall during those years was forty percent less than the national average. Estimated loss during that period was almost forty million dollars.
On average, droughts have occurred about once in every ten years. Droughts can occur around the world, not just in the United States. Areas such as China and Australia show history of periods of drought, causing devastating effects. In February of this year, reports from www.UPI.com show that China will be utilizing one billion dollars in diverting water by creating wells and irrigation to drought ruined areas.
Simply said, drought can be extremely devastating for many reasons. Every area in the world depends on water to survive. Without it, the world will crumble to pieces.
