The Human causes of Drought

The human causes of drought are the activities man has carried out which then caused or triggered Drought

This article is about Drought and the Human causes of Drought.

What is Drought

Drought occurs when a long period of abnormally dry weather leads to a severe water shortage. Drought also often caused by the activity of humans and can have devastating effects.

Human causes of drought 

Human causes of Drought or human activities that can help trigger Drought include:

■ Over-cultivation

With increased pressure on land and also the need to grow more crops on the same land portion, the soil turns to loose it's strength or ability to hold water which makes that portion dry and potentially triggers desertification and leading to drought.

■ Widespread cutting down of trees 

This reduces the soil's ability to hold water drying out the ground since the soil is more exposed to intense sun ray's and erosion of the top soil's by wind which triggers desertification and leads to drought.

■ Overgrazing

The economy of many sahel or semi-arid communities is based on animal grazing. As the human number increases, so too many animals are kept for the amount of grass available. This Overgrazing reduces the sparse vegetation cover, and trampling by livestock may break up the soil. Erosion of the top soil by winds or during flash floods commonly result which triggers desertification and then drought.

■ Construction of a Dam on a large river

This may help provide electricity and water to irrigate farmlands near the reservoir. However, it may also cause Drought downstream by severely reducing the flow of water.

This are the Human causes of Drought if interested to read on the Physical causes of Drought Click Read more and thanks for the read.