ABSTRACT
Drought has significant adverse effects on agricultural, environmental, and socioeconomic conditions. Inadequate precipitation, heat waves, scarcity of water resources, and crop failure make people vulnerable to droughts. Vulnerability to drought impacts varies in different degrees from place to place due to variations in climate, land use/land cover, agricultural practices, social structures, and financial support. Drought vulnerability is closely associated with risk and resilience of a society to drought. Therefore, the assessment of drought vulnerability is very important for proper water resources management and sustainable development. However, the assessment of drought vulnerability is not straightforward and requires monitoring, analysis, and evaluation of numerous factors that are directly or indirectly associated with drought development and intensification.
In this chapter, drought vulnerability and its various aspects have been discussed in detail. The main objective of this chapter is to explain the concept of drought vulnerability, its nature, and controlling factors. Since droughts are intense, prolonged, and more frequent in arid and semiarid regions, such regions are comparatively more vulnerable to droughts. People, especially women, in underdeveloped regions of the world are highly vulnerable to drought impacts. These specific aspects also have been highlighted in this chapter.
