Drought is an insidious hazard of nature. It is often referred to as a creeping disaster and its impact varies from region to region. Drought can therefore be difficult for people to understand, and it is equally difficult to define. In general sense, drought originates from a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more, resulting in water shortage in the environment.
Its impacts result from the interplay between the natural event (less precipitation than expected) and the demand of people regarding water supply, and human activities can also accelerate the impact of drought. Because drought cannot be viewed solely as a physical phenomenon, it is usually defined both conceptually and operationally.
