Monday we had a blog on just the economic impact of droughts in Part One: The Economy, and on Tuesday we discussed the environmental influence of droughts inPart Two: The Environment. Other drought-related impressions include our last topic society. Social impacts include health, public safety, conflicts between water users, and reduced quality of life. During droughts many people migrate to areas outside the drought-affected location. When this happens the area loses a great deal of its population and thus the area has less financial support.
Between 1950 and 1980 the drought of Brazil had a loss of 5.5 million people. This continues to be a significant problem in the economic development of Brazil. Food shortages directly damage societies affected by droughts. The heat of drought environments may cause mental and physical stress that can impact everyday lifestyles. Loss of human life due to these stresses could be caused by suicides and an increase in violence. Political conflicts rise up from the publics’ dissatisfaction with the government’s responses to droughts which may include how water is distributed. These conflicts could lead to social unrest which also affects the rise in violence in society.
Basically the social impact of droughts is like a domino effect. One conflict leads to another which leads to another and soon everything has just collapsed before our eyes. Food and water shortages cause mental stress. This shortage was how the government responded and the public grows dissatisfied with the changes in lifestyle. And so on and so forth, the conclusion is bold: Droughts affect us all. We must understand that there is little to be down about a drought. Natural disasters rarely as us if they may enter our lives. If we accept this fact and accept that we must all do our part the process of transferring our society, environment, and economy from point A to point B then this process will go a little bit smoother. To learn how to conserve water travel to our previous blog Simple Ways to conserve Water.