In seasons of drought they are hardly more than swamps and mud flats, which for a time may become a grassy plain, or desolate coast encrusted with salt. You can supplement rainfall with water from a hose, sprinkler or watering can, but you must commit to watering your vegetable plants, especially during hot weather or in times of drought. It can take weeks, months, or even years for the full effects of long-terminadequaterainfall to become apparent. Emergency spending once a crisis has begun is less effective than money spent in preparation. Sentence Examples "Earthquake" in a sentence "Earthquake" (1) The earthquake gave me a shock. In times of drought these animals undoubtedly resorted to the same water-courses for drink, and thus their fossilized remains are found associated. What is the verb for drought? Other plants only grow when there is enough water to support them. The Weser on the whole is shallow, and navigation above Bremen is sometimes interrupted by drought. The country suffers also from periods of excessive heat and general drought, while locusts occasionally sweep over the land, devouring every green thing. Crops have failed because of drought. In time of drought the water in the canals and boezems is allowed to run back into the polders, and so serve a double purpose as water-reservoirs. This is the death of the earth. Some plants (such as grasses) will slow their growth or turn brown to conserve water. Droughts that occur in thedeveloping worldcan cause even greater devastation. In South America, massive migration out of the once-fertile Atacama Desert 9,500 years ago can be explained by theonsetof extreme drought. Elsewhere in India the rainfall is usually sufficient for all the cultivation of the district, but about every eleven years comes a season of drought, during which canal water is so precious as to make it worth while to construct costly canals merely to serve as a protection against famine. Droughtis an extended period of unusually dryweatherwhen there is not enough rain. What causes drought? Farmers and their families were forced to migrate to other areas in search of work, and by 1940, 2.5 million people had fled the Great Plains. These railways were built by the national government after the drought of 1877-1878 to give work to the starving refugees, and are now operated under leases. Other pulses, lentils, &c., are extensively grown, but the area under these crops is liable to great contraction in years of drought, as it consists for the most part of unirrigated lands. While newirrigationtechniques have increased the amount of land that can be used for farming, they have also increasedfarmers dependence on water. Analyzing paleoclimatic data shows that severe and extended droughts are aninevitablepart of natural climate cycles. Another matter which deserves attention was the great drought which culminated in the year 1902. Drought is also thought to be a factor causing dieback in hedgerow trees, which are not included in the UK crown density survey. To represent the standard of perfect healthiness and exemption from injury due to insects, or drought, or any other causes, one hundred is taken. OTHER WORDS FOR drought 2 scarcity, lack, want, dearth, paucity, famine. Trees can drop their leaves earlier in the season to prevent losing water through the leaf surface. The drought is increased in intensity by the occasional hot dry wind from the desert region in the north, though this wind is usually followed by violent thunderstorms. Dust BowlJohn Steinbecks 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath describes the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s: Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an automobile boiled a cloud behind it. Believe, Fate, Thinking. La Nia, the "cool phase" of ENSO, is a pattern that describes the unusual cooling of the region's surface waters. To increase drought tolerance, scarify the lawn in autumn to remove thatch build-up. The effects of a prolonged autumn drought, as distinguished from spring and summer drought, are shown in the very low yield of turnips in 1899. Fresh water is also a concern for drought stricken areas versus areas where floods occur. However, drought can havedrasticand long-term effects onvegetation, animals, and people. Over 100,000 Spanish translations of English words and phrases. You cannot download interactives. (obsolete, intransitive) To be thirsty. For example, in Atlanta, Georgia, the average rainfall is about 127 centimeters (50 inches) a year. She or he will best know the preferred format. 30 8 During droughts or long periods between natural rainfall, give the roots a good soak with the hose. a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops. Unlike with sudden weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms, it is often difficult to pinpoint when a drought has started or when it has ended. El Nio is a weather event where the surface water in the Pacific Ocean along the central South American coast rises in temperature. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. At one time the position appeared to be desperate, particularly in view of the fact that the farmers refused to believe that the trouble was due to anything other than the continuous drought of successive dry seasons, but at the present time, after much expenditure of energy and capital, the condition of affairs is once more fairly satisfactory. Occasionally, the whole country suffers much from drought; but disastrous floods not unfrequently occur, particularly in the spring, when the beds of the rivers are inadequate to contain the increased volume of water caused by the rapid melting of the snows on the Carpathians. Here at early morning on the 21st of December the emperor offers sacrifice on an open altar to Shang-ti, and at periods of drought or famine presents prayers for relief to the same supreme deity. Much of the country was placed under water restrictions, wildfires spread in the dry weather, and the water level in somedams fell to 25 percent. It requires an exposed spot of very sandy or gritty loam in the rock garden, where it must be surrounded by a few small stones to guard it from drought, and it must be associated with alpine plants. These warmer waters alter storm patterns and are associated with droughts in Indonesia, Australia, and northeastern South America.El Ninoevents keep climate scientists guessing, by occurring every two to seven years. The yellowing and subsequent casting of leaves, for instance, is a very general symptom of disease in plants, and may be induced by drought, extremes of temperature, insufficient or excessive illumination, excess of water at the roots, the action of parasitic Fungi, insects, worms, &c., or of poisonous gases, and so forth; and extreme caution is necessary in. They owe their capacity to live under the most inhospitable conditions to the dual nature of the organism, and to their capacity to withstand extremes of heat, cold and drought without destruction. The drought destroyed all our crops. Even moisture is best, but an established shrub will tolerate some drought. In Yellowstone National Park 36 percent of the park was destroyed by fire. Sometimes this is known as survival of the fittest or the adaptation of organisms that are better suited to the environment. Here she reports back on the country's devastating drought. Below-average precipitation affects the amount of moisture in soil as well as the amount of water in streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Its limitations are that it does not provide early warnings for drought and is not as accurate for use in mountainous areas because it does not account for snow (only rain) as precipitation. 34 28 What is the verb for drought? This allows scientists to extend their understanding of weather patterns for millions of years in the past. Levels are close to drought minima in a zone from Hertfordshire to Norfolk. City officials blamed climate change for the decreasing rainfall. an extended shortage: a drought of good writing. Genes from desert plants can be used to produce crops that withstand drought. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Its boundaries, however, cannot be definitely fixed, as they change with the periods of humidity and drought. , 3. This vast region is the poorest in Brazil and suffers from severe and recurring drought. Learn a new word every day. They are flooded of ter rain, and in seasons of drought many of them, especially the tributaries of the Darling, become chains of ponds. While rainfall registers about 50 inches per year, growers often have to irrigate . In the early 1970s, more than 100,000 people died and millions of people were forced to migrate. If too closely packed, the soil particles present mechanical obstacles to growth; if too retentive of moisture, the root-hairs suffer, as already hinted; if too open or over-drained, the plant succumbs to drought. Planting drought resistant plants is a better way to save water. Lawns with strong, deep root systems are better able to survive heat and drought. The average rainfall is in. , 4. This irrigation is not practised in the drought of summer, but in the coldest and wettest months of the year, FIG. Scientists gather paleoclimatic data fromtree rings,sediments found in lakes and oceans,ice cores, and archaeologicalfeatures andartifacts. Nero 63421 The droughtdamaged all the crops there. Plagues of locusts occasionally, during a drought, ruin growing crops; in damp wet weather these insects are destroyed by a fungus growth (Empusa gryllae) within their bodies. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. It would be only at times of drought that the cave was frequented by animals, a theory which explains the small quantity of animal remains in the shingle. The conglomerates consist almost entirely of pebbles of quartz set in a hard 2 At the Standerton gauge on the Vaal in 1905-1906, a year of extreme drought, the total flow was 8,017,000,000 cub. Send us feedback about these examples. Archaic. 7. Droughts are periods (typically several weeks or longer) of abnormally dry and precipitation-less weather. A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal precipitation. Examples from the Collins Corpus The drought is very great; rain falls rarely and in small quantities. Noun Filter noun droughts A long period of abnormally low rainfall, especially one that adversely affects growing or living conditions. The climate is variable and rainy. An area will experience a drought if it does not get any precipitation of any kind for an extended period of time, usually a few weeks. Many modern agricultural practices may make land morevulnerable to drought. Privacy Policy. Traditional agricultural techniques allow land to rest by rotating crops each season and alternating areas wherelivestock graze. Water is also needed for crops to grow. A drought is defined depending on the average amount of precipitation that an area is accustomed to receiving. Droughts damage agriculture and the food supplies. . The value of the trade depends on regular rains, so that in seasons of drought the exports seriously diminish. Global warming could also lead to more drought conditions andcompromise the farmers; ability to grow food. The combination of lack of rain, high temperatures, and strong winds affected at least 50 million acres of land. In the 1950s, severe drought returned to the Great Plains and southwestern United States, affecting half of the continental U.S. Low rainfall and high temperatures caused the production of crops in some areas to drop nearly 50 percent. Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Meteorology, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Social Studies, U.S. History, World History. It's often easy to spot a cause-and-effect sentence. The cooler waters affect storm patterns by contributing to drier-than-normal conditions in parts of North and South America. Some drought-ravaged cities are taking even more extreme measures to prepare for future droughts. Severe drought definition: A drought is a long period of time during which no rain falls. Copyright HarperCollins Publishers Derived forms droughty (droughty) adjective Word origin Old English drgoth; related to Dutch droogte; see dry Word Frequency During the U.S. drought of 1988, rainfall in many states was 50 to 85 percent below normal. The total of all the losses in energy, water,ecosystems, andagricultureis estimated at $39 billion. By the moderns he has been variously explained as a solar deity; a god of summer; a god of storm; a god of rain, who carries off the rain-giving cloud (the golden fleece) to refresh the earth after a long period of drought. 701 303 The district is exposed to drought and also to destructive floods. Wheats of dry countries and of those exposed to severe winds have, says De Vilmorin, narrow leaves, pliant straw, bearded ears, and velvety chaff - characteristics which enable them to resist wind and drought. drought definition: 1. a long period when there is little or no rain: 2. a long period when there is little or no. The influx of migrants into existing economies already strained by the Great Depression led to a rise in conflict, unemployment, andpoverty. The parched eviscerate soil gapes at the vanity of toil, laughs without mirth. In Africa, the Sahel region experienced a dry period from 1400 to 1750 that radically altered thelandscape. The longer a drought lasts, the greater the harmful effects it has on people. The city, which is on the edge of a huge desert, is also struggling with its history of over-consumption of water. There are no navigable streams. In summer the drought is severe, the heat during the day great, the nights cool and clear. When faced with a drought, rationing and allocating water must be done carefully. Afghanistan, a country troubled with conflict and drought, looks barren in recent news footage. In 2007, 65 percent of viable land in Australia was declared to be in a drought. Drought Resistance - Some of the genetic engineering used to make seedlings more resistant to disease has also been used to make seeds more tolerant to fluctuating water climates. However, regional climate isn't the only culprit in drought activity. Today, visitors can still see the tops of trees growing out of the lakewhere the water is now more than 15 meters (50 feet) deep. It is termed as a natural disaster with harmful effects. The religious significance of the plague of drought and locusts is expressed in ch. She is the personification of the earth suffering from drought, on which the fertilizing rain descends from heaven. A drought may last for weeks, months, or even years. Climate change, namely rising average temperatures driven by human-generated emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, is contributing to droughts, too. Many areas are extremely vulnerable to drought as people continue to be dependent on a steady supply of water. The lower level has extensive lagoons and swampy areas and suffers less from the long periodical drought. The SPI can also identify droughts many months earlier than the PDSI. These clouds could block out the sun for days, giving the period the name dust bowl. In 1934, one dust cloud infamously traveled 2,414 kilometers (1,500 miles), from the Great Plains to the eastern U.S. Mass migration was an indirect effect of the Dust Bowl. The year 1903 proved most bountiful, and in a few years all trace of the disastrous drought of 1902 passed away. Drought resulted in famine throughout the region. The last decade has been especially severe, earning it the name The Big Dry or The Millennium Drought. Since ourdatafromthermometers andrain gauges only goes back about 100 to 150 years, scientists must researchpaleoclimatology, the study of the atmosphere of prehistoric Earth. Delivered to your inbox! Both statistically and experimentally we find that a damp soil favours its life and development, while prolonged submersion and drought kill it. This did not prevent StofHer from predicting a universal deluge for the year 152 4 - a year, as it turned out, distinguished for drought. In Sudan, 1 million people died, at least 7 million livestock died, and 7.8 million people were affected. Mature trees have some drought tolerance because the extensive root system can travel surprisingly long distances to get water. 6. Conditions continue to be critical in the area due to drought, overpopulation, failing crops, and high food prices. In recent years it has suffered severely from drought. Accessed 12 Jun. In the Mexican house the plants will generally be able to withstand greater drought occasionally, being greatly assisted by their thick pseudobulbs. Information from the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is often used to supplement the PDSI data. Foliage is reduced to a minimum, the moisture of the plant being stored up in massive or fleshy stems against the long-continued drought. All are hardy and of easy culture, resisting cold and drought even on dry banks where few other plants can exist. 3205 490 The drought is severe; rain falls rarely and in small quantities. Deserts exist because a drought in the area prevents precipitation of all sorts, leading to a lack of vegetation of all sorts. Most droughts occur when regular weather patterns are interrupted, causingdisruption to thewater cycle.