Drought

weather · water · climate

Water runs out. Droughts happen when a region gets way less rainfall than it usually does. This can last just a few days or stretch on for months or years, leaving rivers low and soil dry.

Crops and animals suffer. When droughts hit, farmers can't grow enough food because their fields dry up. Animals also struggle to find water and plants to eat, which can harm local ecosystems badly.

More wildfires start. Dry conditions mean forests and grasslands become like tinderboxes full of fuel. Heat waves make things even worse by drying everything out faster, so wildfires spread more easily.

Communities face hardship. Droughts hurt the local economy because crops fail, water becomes scarce, and people have to buy expensive water or relocate. It can take years for a region to fully recover.

Heat makes it worse. When heat waves happen during droughts, they speed up evapotranspiration, which is when water evaporates from soil and plants. This creates a vicious cycle that dries everything out even faster.