Global Drought Issues The content below provides a brief overview of the cases of domestic droughts according to cases of foreign droughts in China and other countries in the past.
New Zealand-
(Yonhap News March 17, 2013)
- Economic losses were estimated at 20 billion New Zealand dollars.
- New Zealand's North Island drought declared areas around the region.
- *The worst drought in 50 years.
North Korea-
- It estimated that North Korea's crop yields during the spring drought was only 20 million tons (40% of the forecast) (US press reports)
- U.N. agencies in Pyongyang reported damage to 287,000 agricultural areas in five regions : Pyeongan-North Korea, South and South Yeongam, and Pyongyang.
Croatia-
- Damages totaling $250 million(granary) were incurred.
Brazil-
(Yonhap News May 19, 2012)
- Declaration of Emergency in 450 cities in Bahia, Paraiba, Rio Grande Norte and PiauI.
- Four million people affected by the disaster.
- "At worst, agricultural and livestock production will decrease by 40 percent, and service and commercial sales in drought-hit cities will decrease by 20 percent " (SEI)
- Caused livestock mortality and cutoff of water supply services.
- Brazil's government provided support measures such as supplying drinking water and relief food to drought-stricken areas, postponing debt repayment to farmers, lending new farming funds, and expanding agricultural insurance.
Romania-
- The operation of dredging the riverbed near the marina of Danube River Jimnishia for the operation of the cargo ship stopped due to the drop in water level
Australia-
- 25 % of the annual precipitation
- 91% of New South Wales was classified as a drought zone.
China-
(Kyunghyang newspaper August 4, 2003)
- Ten million residents suffered from insufficient water due to the drought and the worst sweltering weather over the previous 100years. Residents seriously lacked water.
- The Yellow River was the worst drought since its foundation in 1949.
(Yonhap News November 7, 2006)- Water shortage affected/led to the deaths of 14 million people and the total area of land damaged was 1,600㏊
- The north, south, and north-eastern regions received 50-90 levels of rainfall during the period from September to October of the same year
- Shandong Province, it hardly rained since the early part of September
· The 2.67 million hectares of agricultural land was burned. - About 1.9 million residents and 11.5 million livestock were affected by/died from water shortages
- 2 months of precipitation in Shandong Province was 18 ㎜
· Water loss affected 114 rivers in the entire region - 8.7 million and 2 million people died from water shortages and loss of crops in the Gwangshin and Hubei provinces.
- Water shortage affected/led to the deaths of 530,000 people and 400,000 hectares of agricultural land damaged
(Yonhap News February 5, 2009)- About 43 percent ,the 145 million mu (畝, approximately 665 million ㎡) , of the wheat producing areas in the nation, including Hubei, Shanxi, Anhui, Henan, Shandong, Ganshu, Gansu, and Jiangsu, suffered from drought. In particular, the 5692 mu of land was serious affected.
- The most severe damage occurred in Henan in November, 2008 to February, 2009. The average rainfall 11 mm
· 80% reduction in annual rainfall.
· 45 million mu, 64% of the arable land, was damaged by the drought. - Experienced the worst winter drought in fifty years.
· 3.7 million residents lacked water.
· 1.85 million livestock were lost. - In areas where damages were severe, cannons and rockets were used to reduce artificial rainfall, but the damaged area were too vast and the government’s efforts had little effect.
- Water shortage affected 240,000 people and 4,000,000ha of agricultural land was damaged
- Water shortages affected 1 million people
(Yonhap News June 22, 2012)- Water shortage affected 4.28 million people.
Water shortages affected 3 million people in the Yunnan Province area. - 1.7 trillion in economic losses were incurred
- In the Yellow River watershed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, including farmland the Huai River basin, a total area of 7761 mu(畝, 1 bite of about 667㎡) was affected by drought.
- 4.48 million livestock suffer from a shortage of drinking water.
- Central and southern Shandong, 30% to 80% of northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, northern Henan, Shaanxi normal rainfall in the southeast and June worse droughts Jim As the temperature increases up to.
- *The worst drought in 60 years
- Water shortages affected 6,000,000 people
- 9.4 trillion won in property damage, including damage to crops, was incurred
USA-
(Kyunghyang newspaper July 17, 2012)
- 55% of the U.S. continent was affected by the severe drought.
· The largest drought damage since 1956 was incurred when 56% of the country was in drought.
· Eighty percent of the land in the United States suffers from hay fever.
Damage to Crops, farmlands, and rangeland was the worst in 18 years (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report, 2012) - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and experts expected corn production in 2012 to fall 25-50 % from 2011 and soybean production to the lowest level since the 1988 drought.
- Mississippi River vessels were shut down.
(Yonhap News July 24, 2014)- Drought damage was estimated at 7,330 billion won.
- The worst drought conditions were expected to increase from 33% of the state's land in May to 36% in June and to 58% in July.
- In June, 80% of California's total land area was classified as a "severe drought”(according to a report by the Los Angeles Times)
- Inland and coastal areas in central California, extending from southern California to some northern areas.
- Water conservation policies were implemented, such as reducing the amount of water supply for usages such as lawncare, etc.
- A bill was passed that imposed a fine of up to $500 per day on residents who waste water.
- 55% of the U.S. continent was affected by the severe drought.
Germany-
- Eastern Germany expected the crop yields to drop to one-fifth of the level of the previous year due to drought.
- Most freighters shut down due to low water levels in the Elbe and Rhine.
Pakistan-
- 2005 winter rainfall and snowfall declined by more than 40% and 25%, respectively.
*Sources
- 2010 Special Report on extreme weather (from a joint relationship)
- 2011 and more than 2013 climate report (from the joint relationship)
- Press Release (Yonhap News, Trends Daily, Economic Daily, Yonhap News)
- http://blog.daum.net/kmalrf/339346
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