1. Climatic hazards:
Drought & Desertification

2. Starter:
Watch the following video clip carefully
and identify the issues associated with a
lack of rainfall.
What is the pattern of freshwater across
the world? Why do some places enjoy a
surplus while others suffer deficit?

3. World without water
• YouTube clip

4. Describe the pattern of the distribution of
freshwater across the world.

5. What is a drought?
• A drought occurs when there is not enough
rainfall to support people or crops
• There are various causes, human and natural
• Drought is hard to prevent & can cause crop
failure, famine, death, fires & desertification
• It is a weather hazard that can develop slowly

6. Deaths as a consequence of drought
Of all drought-related disasters from 1975-2000, 98% of deaths occur
in just three countries:
Ethiopia, Sudan & Mozambique
1975-2000: +560’000 deaths worldwide from drought disasters

7. Causes of drought
Natural / Physical causes:
- Weather: increased amount of
anticyclone weather (hot + dry)
means air holds less moisture so
you get less rain
- Global warming: weather
patterns change (e.g. Sahel is
becoming hotter + drier)
- Hotter weather = more
evaporation than precipitation
- El Nino: random weather event
that reverses normal weather
patterns (e.g. Australia has years
of drought + then years of flood)
Human causes:
- Overpopulation: too many people
living in an area using too much
water
- Overcultivation: planting too
many crops which use up too
much water
- Overextraction: removing too
much water from wells so they
dry up
- Deforestation: cutting down trees
which otherwise store water +
hold soil together
- Politics: fighting over water, or
companies being greedy + taking
too much water to then sell on

8. Explore the news
• Barcelona drought news
• Australia drought
• Australia drought 2

9. Case Studies
• LEDC = Ethiopia (Sahel region) 1985-2006
• MEDC = Australia 2005-2008

10. Ethiopia drought

11. Ethiopia drought 2006
• Sahel region, drought conditions since 1985
• (Drought of 1984-1985 = 1million deaths)
• Causes = natural climatic causes (low
precipitation), human causes (deforestation,
desertification, overpopulation, overcultivation)
• GDP per capita $110, life expectancy 43yrs
• 2006 = affected 2.7million people
• UNICEF donated $50million to water aid projects
• Consequences = famine, migration, disease, 46%
of cattle died, debt

12. Australia drought

13. Australia drought
• 2006
• Extremely low rainfall season (lowest rain since
1900) across southern Australia
• River Murray dried up in places
• Triggered by ‘El Nino’ weather event – causes
excessively low rainfall
• Human causes = poor use of water resources
• Consequences: 6million sheep died in 2years,
temporary migrations, improvements to water
resource use, eventual floods!

14. Causes, effects, case studies,
management?
• Use the textbook and the photocopies to explore
the causes & consequences of drought
• Include human & physical causes, the effects &
how they are managed
• Consider patterns of rainfall & how the land is
managed
• CASE STUDIES: CAUSES, EFFECTS, RESPONSES

15. How can drought and
desertification be
managed?

16. Watch the slide show from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2009/may/18/desertifica
tion-china?picture=347540416
Mindmap the ways that people are
affected by desertification

17. What is desertification?

22. How can it be managed?
• Afforestation?
• Terracing?
• Magic stones?

23. Exam Qs
• Describe & explain the causes of drought.
[4marks]
• What are the patterns associated with
droughts? [2marks]
• With reference to a case study, describe the
effects of and responses to drought. [6marks]