Detailed on the causes and effects of drought and desertification, the difference between drought and desertification, areas at risk and management strategies for grade 11 and grade 12 geography students. The notes also contain a set of questions to test your knowledge on the topic.
Drought and Desertification
Drought
A lengthy period of time where there is little to no rainfall. It impacts on the demands of
human activities
Months without rain in a desert region is not drought – low rainfall is normal and does not affect people’s
usual activities
Desertification
Process in which land in semi-arid areas gradually changes into desert. Soil becomes less
fertile and vegetation cover decreases due to poor farming practices
Difference:
Droughts are a natural phenomenon – from lack of rainfall
Desertification is from man made causes – bad farming practices
Regional areas at risk
• Lands bordering the Sahara desert in North Africa – especially the area along the
Southern border – Sahel
- Somalia
- Ethiopia
- Sudan
- Chad
- Niger
- Mali
- Burkino Faso
- Mauritania
• Horn of Africa
• Lands bordering the Namib and Kalahari deserts in southern Africa
, Local areas at risk
Areas to the North and West of the 500mm isohyet
• Lands bordering the Kalahari desert
• Northern Cape
• Karoo and northern parts of Western Cape
• Western parts of North West
• Western parts of Free State
Causes of drought
• Areas receiving less rain than expected due to weather patterns changing
• Global warming:
o Some places will receive less rain in the future than they do today – become
more arid
o Rising temperatures – increased evaporation
o Places where rainfall remains same/decreases – increased loss from
evaporation – drier conditions
o Already dry places – decrease could result in serious water shortages
• Droughts occur during El Niño events
Kinds of droughts
• Meteorological drought – rain received is less than
I
• Hydrological drought – water sources dry up and there is less underground water
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