On four continents, historic droughts wreak havoc

Doyle Rice | USA TODAY

California's historic drought appears to be matched by severe dry spells on three other continents. Brazil, North Korea and South Africa are bearing the brunt of much lower-than-average precipitation, wreaking havoc on millions of peoples' lives and livelihoods.

While the causes vary from country to country, the chance of more intense droughts in the future as a result of man-made climate change is only increasing as regional extremes of precipitation — both more and less — remain likely, according to the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Every drought is unique, said Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank in Oakland. "The same drought in California would have very different impacts in other countries," he said.

What's considered a drought in Bali, Indonesia — where six days without rain is unusual — would certainly not be considered a drought in Libya — where annual rainfall is just 7 inches — the National Drought Mitigation Center reported.

In some parts of the world — such as the Middle East — drought is simply a permanent part of life because of the chronic lack of water, making desalination and the reuse of wastewater far more commonplace there, said Charles Iceland of the D.C.-based World Resources Institute.

Overall, tracking droughts globally is difficult: No country outside the U.S. has a comprehensive effort to monitor it, said climatologist Brian Fuchs of the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb.

BRAZIL

The South American nation's worst drought in 50 years is impacting a fifth of Brazil's 200 million people, including those in the megacities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero. Brazil is "really suffering," Gleick said. "It's pushing its infrastructure to the limit," he said.

While Brazil has a decent system of dams and reservoirs, no human-built infrastructure is adequate if the drought is extreme enough, Gleick said. Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, is now running on emergency reserves of water and has started rationing because of the lack of precipitation, the Global Drought Information System reported.

Water in Brazilian cities and reservoirs is extremely polluted, Iceland said, meaning access to clean water even in rainy times is challenging. The drought makes that situation even worse.

What little water is left in the rivers and reservoirs is "just about unusable in its current state," Iceland said. "In Brazil, wastewater is not treated and just dumped into rivers, which are almost like open sewers."

CALIFORNIA

The Golden State's massive water infrastructure system — the most extensive in the world — is being put to the test by the epic drought, Gleick said.

California's drought has brought unprecedented water shortages, increased threats to wildlife and crops, higher electric bills and huge economic losses.

As of Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor, 97% of the state is enduring some level of drought. Each of the state's 12 reservoirs is at a level far below average, as are streams.

Above-average precipitation during the past 90 days in parts of central and southern California and the Sierra have not reduced the overall drought conditions in these areas because they are still so abnormally dry, the drought monitor reported.

The state is hoping that a predicted strong El Niño will deliver a blast of rain and snow to the state this winter, but too much too quickly can lead to flooding and mudslides as the water just runs off the rock-hard ground.

SOUTH AFRICA

In Africa, drought continues to intensify in the equatorial region and remains entrenched in South Africa, which is seeing its worst dry spell in two decades, GDIS said. The United Nations said that this year's food production for much of central and southern Africa is likely to be far lower than last year because of the drought.

South Africa's government said parts of the country are seeing their worst drought since 1992. It said the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal is in especially bad shape. Water shortages have reached "crisis levels," the government said in a statement.

The country has been forced to import corn (maize) this year, rather than export it as it usually does, the U.N. World Food Program reported. "South Africa, the largest producer in the region, accounting for more than 40% of regional maize output – has estimated a maize production fall of 32% below last year's harvest," WFP spokesperson Jane Howard said in an e-mail.

"There are concerns that there could be significant food supply shortages in coming months," she added.

Several dams are at critically low levels, forcing mandatory water cutbacks in some areas. Water is being supplied to some communities by water trucks.

"The situation we are facing is a very serious one," South African government official Nomusa Dube-Ncube said in a separate statement. "There are no signs of rain coming. We are praying."

NORTH KOREA

The drought in North Korea is extremely difficult to track or verify, because of the lack of accurate information that comes out of the reclusive nation. The country said it is undergoing its worst drought in a century, and the U.N. is warning of mass starvation since many of the areas affected by the dry conditions produce staple food crops.

Deaths of young children increased markedly in the first six months of the year in the drought-affected provinces, the U.N. Children's Fund reported. "The situation is urgent," UNICEF Regional Director Daniel Toole said in a statement earlier this month. "But if we act now — by providing urgently needed expertise and prepositioning supplies — we can save lives."

The country is also experiencing electric shortages because the drought is reducing hydroelectric generation capacity, the Global Drought Information System reported.

Of all the countries in the world, North Korea is one of the least capable of dealing with drought, Gleick said. "The ability of a region to withstand drought depends on its connections with the rest of the world," he said.