GeoActive Questions (2)

Activities:

1. List the main reasons for water scarcity.
The main reasons for water scarcity is that many hot places such as deserts have very low
rainfall, variations in climate, land degradation, population growth and water pollution.
2. What is a drought? What type of hardships do you think that a drought could cause if you were living in a village in a poor country such as Ethiopia?
A drought is a period of below average precipitation. If I was living in a poor country such as
Ethiopia, the hardships I would face is fatal diseases such as cholera.
3. How does land degradation affect the supply of fresh water?
Land degradation can be caused by the excessive destruction of natural vegetation through
deforestation, overgrazing and farming. Then the soil would be not able to store water.
4. (a) What is El Nino?
El Nino is a warming that develops every three to five years in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of
Peru. During El Nino, the moist easterly trade winds that normally blow across the Pacific Ocean
reverse their direction.
(b) Why does El Nino often cause drought in Australia?
El Nino often cause drought in Australia because of the reversal of air pressure across the Pacific, resulting in high pressure systems building up over most of Australia.
5. Observe the map showing the global effects of El Nino in 1982-83.
(a) What effects does El Nino have on the availability of fresh water?
There can be period of heavy rain through the west coast of South America which would cause severe flooding. Water will be polluted and only a little bit of clean water is available.
(b) Name the countries and describe the problems that arose from decreased rainfall caused by El Nino.
Africa: Reduced corn crop in sub-Saharan region
China: Agricultural land under threat from drought in northern regions and flooding in southern regions
United States: Rainfall above normal in north-western states (double the historical averages)
Indonesia: High air pollution levels, following forest fires
Philippines: Lower rice harvest following drought
Colombia: Fishing operators affected by lower catch (down 20%)
Papua New Guinea: Drought-related failure of food crops, leading to famine conditions requiring food aid
Australia: Wheat exports threatened by drought conditions across grain-growing areas, particularly New South Wales
Peru: 1. Flooding (also in Chile) 2. Fishing operators affefcted by lower catch as anchovy and Pacific sardine move offshore to escape warm currents (5 degrees C above normal temperatures)