Drought
hideA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy. This global phenomenon has a widespread impact on agriculture. The United Nations estimates that an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation, and climate instability. Lengthy periods of drought have long been a key trigger for mass migration and played a key role in a number of ongoing migrations and other humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
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News tagged with drought
Biosphere 2 experiment shows how fast heat could kill drought-stressed trees
Apr 13, 2009 |
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Widespread die-off of piñon pine across the southwestern United States during future droughts will occur at least five times faster if climate warms by 4 degrees Celsius, even if future droughts are no worse ...
Climate change models find staple crops face ruin on up to 1 million square km of African farmland
Jun 03, 2009 |
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A new study by researchers from the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the United Kingdom's Waen Associates has found that by 2050, hotter conditions, coupled with shifting rainfall patterns, ...
Scientists reveal secrets of drought resistance
Oct 22, 2009 |
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A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts. ...
Global warming may dent El Nino's protective shield from Atlantic hurricanes, increase droughts
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- El Niño, the periodic eastern Pacific phenomenon credited with shielding the United States and Caribbean from severe hurricane seasons, may be overshadowed by its brother in the central Pacific ...
Megadroughts in sub-Saharan Africa normal for the region
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2009 |
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Devastating droughts worse than the infamous Sahel drought are part of the normal climate regime for sub-Saharan West Africa, according to new research.
Tibet drought worst in 30 years: Chinese state media
Jun 20, 2009 |
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A drought in Tibet has intensified into the region's worst in three decades, leaving thousands of hectares parched and killing more than 13,000 head of cattle, China's state media said Saturday.
'Killer' Southeast drought low on scale, says study
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 01, 2009 |
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A 2005-2007 dry spell in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars of crops, drained municipal reservoirs and sparked legal wars among a half-dozen states—but the havoc came not from exceptional ...
Cave study links climate change to California droughts
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 10, 2009 |
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California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to a new study by UC Davis doctoral student Jessica Oster and geology professor ...
Synthetic chemical offers solution for crops facing drought
Apr 30, 2009 |
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Crops and other plants are constantly confronted with adverse environmental conditions, lowering yield and costing farmers billions of dollars annually. Plants use specialized signals, called stress hormones, ...
Expect the unexpected when adapting to climate change in Africa, says researcher
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Nations, communities and families in Africa need to safeguard their homes and livelihoods against the unpredictable effects of climate change, according to a discussion paper written by Imperial ...
Research finds mangroves being fed to death
May 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New UQ Science research has found the increase in nutrients coming out of our river systems is putting pressure on our mangrove forests and making them far more susceptible to environmental ...
Beijing's first snow of season 'artificially induced'
Nov 01, 2009 |
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Chinese meteorologists covered Beijing in snow Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported.
Research spawns new discoveries showing how crops survive drought
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a plant cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has greatly accelerated scientists' knowledge on how plants and crops can ...
Research finds way to double rice crops in drought-stricken areas
Biology /
Nov 20, 2008 |
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University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.
Amazon carbon sink threatened by drought
Mar 05, 2009 |
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The Amazon is surprisingly sensitive to drought, according to new research conducted throughout the world's largest tropical forest. The 30-year study, published today in Science, provides the first solid evidence that d ...
