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Treat droughts like hurricanes

A recent study which analysed 1,420 droughts between 1979 and 2009, identified “hotspots” around the world and common directions in which droughts move. According to the study conducted at Princeton University about 10 percent of droughts travel between 1 400 km to 3 100 km from where they begin. Researchers are beginning to view droughts as a dynamic force similar to hurricanes which slowly grow in one place and then move across a region, gaining intensity and size. Some hope that droughts will soon be monitored similarly to hurricanes – with scientists able to predict their development and forecast their paths, helping to protect those living in their path.

Some droughts in the south-western United States, for example, tend to move from south to north while they migrate in the opposite direction in Argentina. It was found that droughts in  Central Africa tend to move south-eastern toward the coast.

The scientists found that droughts that travel are usually the largest and most disastrous.  According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, based in the United States, these droughts can cause a loss of agriculture, wildlife, wetlands and human life. To read more, click HERE.

Published on Thursday, 23rd March 2017 - 12:23

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