Drought

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-008615",
  "term": "Drought",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A period without rain that can damage crops such as wheat and corn.\n\n2. A period of unusually dry weather lasting long enough to cause serious shortages of water for ecosystems and human use (such as drinking water and agriculture) in the affected area.\n\n3. Severe decreases in precipitation or a period of unusually dry weather lasting long enough to cause serious shortages of water for ecosystems and human use (such as drinking water and agriculture) in the affected area.\n\n4. A sustained period of inadequate or subnormal precipitation that can lead to water supply shortages, as well as increased water usage.\n\n5. Drought is a deficiency in precipitation over an extended period, usually a season or more, resulting in a water shortage causing adverse impacts on vegetation, animals, and/or people. It is a normal, recurrent feature of climate that occurs in virtually all climate zones, from very wet to very dry. Drought is a temporary aberration from normal climatic conditions, thus it can vary significantly from one region to another. Drought is different than aridity, which is a permanent feature of climate in regions where low precipitation is the norm, as in a desert. 1) Meteorological drought is usually defined based on the degree of dryness (in comparison to some “normal” or average) and the duration of the dry period. Drought onset generally occurs with a meteorological drought. 2) Agricultural drought links various characteristics of meteorological (or hydrological) drought to agricultural impacts, focusing on precipitation shortages, soil water deficits, reduced ground water or reservoir levels needed for irrigation, and so forth. 3) Hydrological drought usually occurs following periods of extended precipitation shortfalls that impact water supply (i.e., streamflow, reservoir and lake levels, ground water), potentially resulting in significant societal impacts. Because regions are interconnected by hydrologic systems, the impact of meteorological drought may extend well beyond the borders of the precipitation-deficient area.",
  "subject": "Climate change",
  "references": [
    "Estuaries Glossary",
    "Student's Guide to Global Climate Change",
    "Resilience and Adaptation in New England (RAINE) Glossary",
    "Water Conservation Plan Guidelines Glossary; Water Conservation Glossary",
    "National Weather Service Public Fact Sheet at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/climate/DroughtPublic2.pdf"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/drought/"
}