An environmental threat is a possibility and a product of an undesirable accent on the surrounding. Agribusiness, industry, energy, transport, and land planning are elements that nurture the risk. Drought is a natural risk portrayed as a shortage of rain for a prolonged period that causes diverse effects on human livelihood. The hydrologic effects are the causes of the drought in most parts of the world. Temperature and quantity of rain are symbols of depletion, whereby the levels of wetness in lakes and rivers and the amount of water in soil decline. Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) is a reliable tool used to detect drought. It measures the duration and power of prolonged and short-term deficiency established on the rain and heat.
Poor management of water resources is a factor that aids in drought. It causes reduced movement and base releases from reservoirs due to sedimentation. According to Orimoloye et al., (2022), the increased demand for productive land and water resources driven by population growth and weather modification ushers deficit. Secondly, poorly planned and regulated human development is a challenge that donates to the condition. It guides to reduced water quality due to pollution from agriculture and industries. Further, it leads to the misplacement of habitat connectivity due to infrastructure and other barriers to flow. People should adopt positive and longer-term measures, such as raising awareness of drought issues and behavior change to minimize the crisis.
Short-term outcomes of drought on humans include dehydration caused by the absence of insufficient water intake and diarrhea caused by contaminated water. According to Chan et al., (2018), World Health Organization (WHO) evaluates that 55 million people globally are affected by shortages every year, and it is the most destructive disaster to livestock and food insecurity. In addition, WHO (2017) statistics estimate over 250,000 deaths increase per year regarding malnutrition and heat stress caused by drought by 2030. Drought jeopardizes people’s livelihoods and exposes 150 million young children to contracting infections and death (Murray et al., 2021). Global warming and wildfires are long-term outcomes that increase scarcity. The imposition of policies that can aid in surveying the condition can control the effects of global warming. Young children and vulnerable individuals are the most impacted groups by drought. It is paramount to develop and implement suitable risk management strategies that enable societies to adapt to the evolving risk in the context of global change.
References
Chan, A. W., Hon, K. L., Leung, T. F., Ho, M. H., Sou Da Rosa Duque, J., & Lee, T. H. (2018). The effects of global warming on allergic diseases. Hong Kong Medical Journal, 24(3), 277-284.
Murray, R. D., Kerr, K. W., Brunton, C., Williams, J. A., DeWitt, T., & Wulf, K. L. (2021). A first step towards eliminating malnutrition: A proposal for universal nutrition screening in pediatric practice. Nutrition and Dietary Supplements, 13, 17-24.
Orimoloye, I. R., Belle, J. A., Orimoloye, Y. M., Olusola, A. O., & Ololade, O. O. (2022). Drought: A common environmental disaster. Atmosphere, 13(1), 111. Web.
World Health Organization (2017). Climate change and health. WHO. Web.