Abstract
Droughts have been identified as an environmental hazard by environmentalists, ecologists, hydrologists, meteorologists, geologists, and agricultural experts. Droughts are characterised by a decrease in precipitation over a lengthy period, such as a season or a year, and can occur in virtually all climatic zones, including both high and low rainfall locations. This study reviewed drought-related impacts on the environment and other components particularly, in South Africa. Several attempts have been made using innovative technology such as earth observation and climate information as recorded in studies. Findings show that the country is naturally water deficient, which adds to the climate fluctuation with the average annual rainfall in South Africa being far below the global average of 860 mm per year. Drought in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, for example, has resulted in employment losses in the province’s agriculture sector. According to the third quarterly labor force survey from 2017, the agricultural industry lost almost 25,000 jobs across the country. In the Western Cape province, about 20,000 of these were lost which has a direct impact on income generation. Many of these impacts were linked to drought events.
Highlights
Hydroelectric power generation, water-intensive non-agricultural production and domestic water availability, all of which have health concerns, are examples of primary or physical impacts. Secondary effects are those that have an impact on the gross domestic product (GDP); for example, a decrease in industrial output may lead to inflation and layoffs, increasing unemployment
This review focused on the effects of drought on the environment and other factors in South Africa
The findings demonstrate that the country is inherently water-scarce, which contributes to climate change impacts, as South Africa’s average annual rainfall is much below the global average of 860 mm per year
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Drought has been identified as an environmental hazard by scientists and agricultural professionals It has been described as a long period of a decrease in precipitation, such as a season or a year, and occurs in almost all climatic zones, including both high and low rainfall locations. In Kenya, the situation is almost the same, as reports from the country are stating unequivocally that food insecurity within the country is likely to persist till the end of the year 2021 with about 2 million people in need of humanitarian aid Whether it is in SSA, South Africa or in southern. The cooler waters contribute to drier-than-normal weather in regions of North and South America, which affects storm patterns that can influence drought episodes [12,13]. NDVI and VCI, on the other hand, are used to represent the state of the vegetation and drought severity [35]
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