Drought 

Droughts are the result of acute water shortages, causing severe and sometimes catastrophic economical and social, consequences. Out of all the natural disasters common in the region, droughts affect more people and larger areas than any other. 

The Irrigation Commission in 1972 identified two types of areas; drought prone and chronically drought prone. Drought prone areas are those with 20 percent probability of rainfall deficiency of more than 25 percent of the normal rainfall. 

Drought has a number of short and long term effects on the ecosystem of the affected area. Agricultural production in India is highly dependent on rainfall; hence, drought has a direct effect on it. Drought reduces the country's food grains production in certain years by as mush as 15-20 percent of the yield of a normal year. 

Somalia is one of the most worst drought full country. India and Bangladesh are after Somalia. 

Most drought prone areas in India, particularly the arid districts, are endowed with reputed breeds of cattle and sheep. However, the productivity of livestock breeds is very poor in these areas due to loss of pasture lands, population explosion, absence of livestock feeds etc. Together with cattle, other milch animals such as buffaloes and goats are also severely affected due to shortage of drinking water and absence of fodder and feeds. 

Prolonged drought has a direct impact on poverty. Impoverishment during droughts tends to be high in the absence of governmental intervention.  

The main economic activities in the dry zone areas of Sri Lanka are irrigated paddy cultivation and dry land farming. The former is dependent largely on artificial reservoirs and the latter on rains. Prolonged drought in major paddy growing areas of Sri Lanka had caused a big decline in the 1988-1989 Maha crps leading to higher imports of rice as well as enhanced government relief expenditure to drought affected people. Nearly in the North-Central eight lakh people were affected.