A drought is a prolonged dry period in the natural climate cycle that can occur anywhere in the world. It is a slow-onset disaster characterized by lack of rainfall, leading to water shortages. Drought can seriously affect health, agriculture, the economy, energy and the environment.
Drought affects an estimated 55 million people around the world each year, and is the most dangerous to livestock and crops in almost every part of the world. Drought threatens people's livelihoods, increases the risk of disease and mortality, and promotes mass migration. Water scarcity affects 40% of the world's population, and 700 million people are at risk of displacement as a result of drought by 2030.
Rising temperatures caused by climate change are making already dry areas drier and wetter. In dry areas, this means that when temperatures rise, water evaporates more quickly, thus increasing the risk of drought or prolonging drought periods. Between 80 and 90 percent of all documented disasters caused by natural hazards over the past 10 years were caused by floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves and severe storms.