Drought
- Created by: Gabzay
- Created on: 25-04-13 17:33
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- Drought
- A prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation a shortage of water resulting from this
- In the UK an official drought is declared when at least 15 consecutive days go without more than 0.2 mm of rain
- 2003 European Drought
- Impacts
- Human death toll exceeding 30,000
- Worst natural disaster for 50 years
- Farm livestock died and crops failed at the cost of £13.1 billion euros to farmers
- Power shortages in France and Germany because nuclear power stations need water to be cooled
- Tourism increased in the UK (holidays at home)
- Over 25,000 forest fires recorded (400,000 hectares burned)
- Transport suffered - road surfaces melted, railway tracks buckled under the heat
- Glaciers melted in the Alps
- Management
- Polluting less
- Using less water
- Campaigns for shorter showers and showers instead of baths
- Self-closing valves in public toilets
- Hose pipe ban (used in the UK)
- Meditteranean-style plants that require less water
- Use grey water (from bath) to water gardens / flush toilets / wash cars
- Precision farming - satellite information to estimate biomass, deliver this to farmers who make decisions on sustainable management of their land
- Store water to use on parks, etc by building dams/reservoirs near them
- Use GPS to plant seeds, know exactly where to water
- Government control over rivers to avoid some states overusing / depleting supplies to others
- E.g. USA and Australia
- If a river runs through more than one country an international agreement may be needed e.g. River Nile and River Jordan
- Have accurately calculated water quotas for countries, regions and individual farms
- Drought tolerant plants are being developed
- Bred a wheat variety 'Dysdale' which yields 5% more than the other varieties under dry conditions
- Reduce evaporation by building irrigation pipes underground
- Use buffer stocks to control supply and prices of produce
- Impacts
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