21 Drought Facts For Kids

1. A drought is a meteorological event where the water supply is reduced in a specific area or region.
2. Droughts are a natural disaster caused by below-average precipitation. However, they can be caused by human activity through depletion of surface water and ground water faster than the water cycle can replace it.
3. Droughts are devastating, they can result in the loss of habitat, native species, destruction of crops, reduced food production, increased wildfire risk, lower soil quality and accelerates the depletion of existing water supplies.
4. During a drought local, state and/or federal government will enact restrictions on water usage. Failure to follow these water restrictions can result in steep fines and further exacerbate a drought.
5. A drought can affect an area as small as 20 square miles or affect more than 100,000 square miles.
6. Droughts can last for months, but in severe cases a drought can last for years.
7. A drought that lasts more than 20 years is known as a megadrought.
8. Around 71% of our planet is covered with water, but less than 1% is freshwater available for human use. Droughts create deadly conditions where humans are unable to access freshwater for consumption or farming.
9. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates globally 55 million people are affected by droughts every year.
10. In the United States, droughts are monitored, forecasted, and mitigated by the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).
11. In the United States, a drought is assigned one of five classifications based on severity and length.
12. The five drought classifications in the United States are D0 (abnormally dry), D1 (moderate drought), D2 (severe drought), D3 (extreme drought) and D4 (exceptional drought)
13. A D0 drought is abnormally dry period that is going into a drought, crops will grow slower with less yields and water levels may decrease beyond acceptable levels.
14. A D1 drought is a moderate drought that will likely have crop losses and low water levels in wells, streams, rivers, and reservoirs.
15. A D2 drought is a severe drought that will cause crop losses with some water shortages and restrictions.
16. A D3 drought is an extreme drought that will have major crop loss and widespread water shortages with restrictions.
17. A D4 drought is an exceptional drought that will have widespread crop loss and water emergencies caused by a shortage of water via wells, streams, rivers, and reservoirs.
18. The Dust Bowl was a series of severe dust storms that caused great ecological and agricultural damage in parts of the United States during the 1930. A severe drought that affected 70% of the United States, coupled with farmers not using dryland farming methods is believed to have caused this damaging event.
19. The 1988-1990 North American drought is considered one of the worst droughts in U.S. history. It’s estimated this drought cost the United States $137 billion (2022 USD) in losses and damages. This drought affected around 45% of the United States.
20. A study found that between 1970 and 2012 droughts were responsible for an estimated 680,000 deaths worldwide.
21. A study found between 1980 and 2019 droughts were responsible for more than $200 billion dollars in damages and loss income in the United States.

Drought Pictures

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the below images will be helpful for your research on droughts. Below are six pictures of drought conditions and the effects of a drought. These pictures should help better understand this natural water shortage event.

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