Adjustment to drought is affected by culture, income, and by the political system. In Saudi Arabia adjustment to drought hazard is usually the work of both individuals, and government. The government has spent large sums of money to reduce impact
Drought disasters and environmental change during past 30 years in Africa
Africa ; Arid area ; Catastrophe ; Drought ; Environmental degradation ; Human impact ; Land use ; Precipitation ; Sahel
The basic situation of the droughts and drought disasters are introduced briefly, and the main causes resulting in drought disasters are analysed in the paper. The lack of rainfall is one of the factors but not the real one. From environmmental
viewpoints, the drought disasters in Africa resulted from unsuitable land use and management by man. Finally, the strategy for preventing drought disasters in Africa is suggested.
Applied climatology ; Bibliography ; Climatic change ; Climatic variability ; Drought ; Global change ; Simulation ; Years 2000-2009
This brief report will focus on 3 topics within drought research that are most relevant to applied climatology : 1) modern drought monitoring using instrumental products, 2) impacts of recent climatic change on drought variability, and 3) modeling
of modern and future drought. In all cases, a selection of the recent literature on precipitation variations and associated drought conditions is reviewed, synthesized, and critiqued.
We have studied the meteorological drought and the agricultural drought. We note more than 50 % of a deficit years. From the pluviometric limits of these four ranges (moderated year, drought year, very drought and hyper-drought), four maps were
established. For the second, we tried to establish the agricultural drought basing on the drought index Id.S%. - (BJ)
Spatial patterns of average southeastern-based droughts in the contiguous United States
Drought ; Methodology ; Seasonal variation ; Spatial variation ; United States ; Weather type
The primary purpose of this study is to examine the spatial evolution of meteorological drought severity within the contiguous United States during the first six months of an average drought event. Drought events occurring during the period January
1895 to April 1989 were identified based on the drought history of the Northwest South Carolina (NWSC) climatic division.
Climatological drought in Arizona : an analysis of indicators for guiding the governor's drought task force
Arid area ; Aridity index ; Arizona ; Climatic index ; Climatology ; Drought ; Environmental management ; Government policy ; Twentieth Century ; United States of America ; Water deficit ; Years 2000-2009
This article provides an overview of efforts to standardize the use of drought indices in order to compare recent and historical drought both spatially and temporally for Arizona. Yearly averages of the Palmer Drought Severity Index
and the Standardized Precipitation Index are placed into a frequency distribution to create standardization among the indices. The 1896-1904 drought ranked as the most severe, although the 1996-2004 drought was a close second.
A Markov and runs analysis of drought in the central United States
The most common measure of drought, the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), is combined with the theory of runs in a Markov chain analysis. The A. analyzes the spatial pattern of severe and extreme drought for 41 climate divisions in the five
Concept ; Drought ; Perception ; United States of America ; Urban climate ; Vulnerability ; Water management ; Water needs
This paper describes key aspects derived from extensive investigations of several urban droughts that serve as the basis for establishing definitions of urban droughts and their physical causes. Additional sections analyze management approaches used
Some meteorological and climatological indicators of drought incidence in Sri Lanka
The paper examines a number of indicators of droughts and drought incidences in Sri Lanka. The problems of droughts in certain areas of the country have been identified and strategies in raising the productivity of water in keeping
Drought and the human story : Braving the Bull of Heaven
Attitude ; Behaviour ; Drought ; Ecology ; Impact ; Local knowledge ; Society ; Society-environment relationship ; Water management
Drought has been a long companion in the human story. Mythologized as the devastating Bull of Heaven in one of the earliest heroic legends of Mesapotamia, drought has continued to wreak havoc. This study of the human conceptualization of drought
in a global setting examines the historical record from early human society through to present concerns to explore how and why attitudes to drought have changed and why the mitigation of its impacts has become more difficult. To offer a more lasting strategy
for protection against drought, the A. argues that physical scientists need to combine their skills in understanding global ecology and their technological expertise with the social scientists' awareness of the socio-economic, political and cultural contexts
in which modern societies operate. Both will have to ensure that their cooperative strategies for drought management will be understood and supported by the public. – (HC)
Dimensions of drought : South African case studies
Bantustan ; Drought ; Food production ; Human impact ; Land use ; Living conditions ; Malnutrition ; South Africa
The causes and impacts of drought have not received sufficient attention in South Africa and in its Bantustans. The paper outlines the dimensions of drought, including the biophysical and socio-economic factors. Issues such as land-use management
, drought planning and relief are interrogated. Specific reference is made to case studies.
Application of the Walsh Function to the study of temporal-spatial variations of droughts and floods in China
China ; Climatology ; Drought ; Eastern China ; Flood ; Natural hazards ; Spatial variation ; Spectral analysis
This study discusses the temporal-spatial variations of droughts and floods in the eastern part of China by using the physical meaning of coefficients in the Walsh Function theory. Eight patterns of droughts and floods as well as a chronological
table of patterns of droughts and floods during the period from 1470 to 1982 are obtained.
Climatology of precipitation droughts in Illinois based on water supply problems
The temporal and spatial characteristics of these water supply precipitation droughts were assessed revealing that droughts typically : a) begin in warm season months| b) become more widespread when more severe and/or of shorter duration| c
) are more severe and frequent in central Illinois| and d) end with much above normal precipitation in the initial post-drought months, but tend to recess to slightly drier than normal conditions (but not drought levels).