Drought phenomenon in Morocco

drought phenomenon

It is a state of severe shortage of water resources that occurs in a specific area, and may last for a period of time, up to several months or years, and this phenomenon occurs for certain reasons and factors that lead to less precipitation than the normal rate for this region, and despite the continuation of this phenomenon for a few years, only It is capable of greatly affecting the ecosystem, and agriculture in particular.

According to United Nations statistics, the percentage of fertile lands and areas affected by drought and climate variability is equivalent to the size of the state of Ukraine itself.

Drought phenomenon in Morocco

Morocco has known the phenomenon of drought since ancient times, and it became increasing year after year until it spread widely in the early eighties. Reports also revealed that Morocco suffered during the twentieth century from more than ten major drought periods, represented by the decline of surface water materials and the decay of water from springs and wells, which caused It led to a decline in agricultural and animal production and vegetation cover.

Among the most prominent and severe was the drought that occurred in 1935 AD, to the extent that not a single drop of water fell during this period, and witnessed a miserable state of hunger and deadly epidemics that claimed the lives of thousands of people and animals, which made people explain that what happens to them is a punishment from God. Its main reason was people's preoccupation with innovations and sins.

Causes of drought in Morocco

The causes of drought in Morocco are in the agricultural field in particular, and are due to several reasons:

• Poor exploitation and management of irrigated lands: This is represented in the excessive amount of irrigated land, which leads to salinization of the soil and its submergence with water, which leads to a decline or absence of its production.
• Natural causes: They are caused by climatic changes that occurred during different periods of time. They were caused by the formation of deserts that covered vast areas of the earth, such as the Great Desert in Africa and the Empty Quarter in the Arabian Peninsula. The impact of these deserts on the neighboring regions continues to this day.
• Human activity: It is represented by the large increase in the population, which resulted in an increase in the proportion of resource consumption, in addition to the social and economic development, which resulted in an irregular increase in the population's demand for agricultural products.

Types of drought

Drought occurs in several types, with a general weakness in agricultural and economic resources. These types are:

• Climatic drought: It is a lack of precipitation received by the region that suffers from drought.
• Agricultural drought: It is a severe weakness and decline in agricultural and animal crops.
• Hydrological drought: This type of drought is represented in a severe shortage of water resources. such as springs, esoteric mattresses, and well water.

The climatic drought is the main cause and largely controlling the rest of the droughts.