Climate change is showing harsh repercussions on the weather phenomena, like extreme temperature, flood and prolonged drought around the globe. According to WWF, in the past eras, major floods would take place only every 100 years while now they occur every 10-20 years.
Drought is another major problem resulted by climate change. As the wetter areas experience flooding, the areas which are on the drier sides are more prone to experience drought. It is basically caused by increased rate of evapotranspiration. The soil loses water through increased evaporation and plants through increased transpiration. It results in lack of enough soil moisture in dry areas. Hence the soil cracks and turns arid.
While drought is one problem, expansion of dry land is another. Scientists have predicted that the dry areas will expand prominently by mid-century. In addition, the water resources in the affected areas will decline by 30%. It is explained by a phenomenon called as the Hadley Cell—“in which warm air in the tropics rises, loses moisture to tropical thunderstorms, and descends in the subtropics as dry air. As jet streams continue to shift to higher latitudes, and storm patterns shift along with them, semi-arid and desert areas are expected to expand.”
Prolonged drought has various agricultural, health and socio-economic effects. Areas that depend on water sources for agriculture can even suffer serious famine. In Maharastra, India, many farmers commit suicide every year due to the tyranny of drought.
It causes either reduction or total loss of crop yield. Farmers have to bear heavy losses that dismantle their hopes and plans daunting them for farming further or even living further. The storms and dust bowls often lacerate the top fertile part of the soil and deposit sandy infertile soil causing soil erosion. This might as well result in desertification. The farmers will be unable to produce anything, resulting in famine unless the respective government doesn’t come up with an effective solution. Animals, mostly aquatic, will experience a severe habitat damage. Fisheries will dry up, terrestrial wildlife won’t have any source of water to sustain their lives. The majority of the population will suffer from hunger and malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases, if not famine. The distribution of the population will alter due to mass migration, resulting in international refugees. Areas that depend on hydroelectricity will experience reduced electricity production. Industries will eventually shut down as they require water for operation. Snake migration is another gimmick. Due to extreme dry weather and hot temperature, they slither out of their holes and start showing up around human habitats. Yearly, thousands of people die in such areas due to snakebites.
Prolonged drought and its consequences result in social disorder. The administration malfunctions and a chaotic situation might emerge. Wildfires and bushfires are another common cases that cause the loss of endangered wild flora and fauna.
Drought in a normal sense, is in fact a common phenomenon that has been recurring on the earth for ages. The only difference is how intense it has now become. It’s been augmenting both in its length and weight. It’s become harsher, more severe now.
While climate change is supposed to be the prime factor responsible, there’s still a lot we can do to combat it. Our irresponsible activities and ignorance has already cost a lot to the earth as evident by drought and flood like phenomenon. It’s not just the responsibility of a single person, or a single union or a single nation. We all are living on the same planet, roofed by the same sky, under different nationality, different religion and different identity. But from no way, this becomes a plausible excuse to refrain from our common responsibility toward our home planet, without which we are not only homeless, but also non-existent.
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