noun
definition
A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell.
definition
(by extension) A longer than expected term without success, particularly in sport.
Examples of drought in a Sentence
Heat and drought had continued for more than three weeks.
The drought is severe; rain falls rarely and in small quantities.
The district is exposed to drought and also to destructive floods.
The walking or climbing fishes, which are peculiar to south-eastern Asia and Africa, are organized so as to be able to breathe when out of the water, and they are thus fitted to exist under conditions which would be fatal to other fishes, being suited to live in the regions of periodical drought and rain in which they are found.
The value of the trade depends on regular rains, so that in seasons of drought the exports seriously diminish.
The religious significance of the plague of drought and locusts is expressed in ch.
The drought of 1898 was interrupted by copious rains in June, and these falling on a warm soil led to a rapid growth of grass and, as measured by yield per acre, an exceedingly heavy crop of hay.
They are flooded of ter rain, and in seasons of drought many of them, especially the tributaries of the Darling, become chains of ponds.
The plain is for the most part sandy and almost barren, subject to heavy floods in the rainy season, and to severe drought in the dry weather.
Another matter which deserves attention was the great drought which culminated in the year 1902.
Apart from the coast region, seasons of drought are not uncommon.
In seasons of drought they are hardly more than swamps and mud flats, which for a time may become a grassy plain, or desolate coast encrusted with salt.
Both statistically and experimentally we find that a damp soil favours its life and development, while prolonged submersion and drought kill it.
In recent years it has suffered severely from drought.
Many soils of a light sandy or gravelly or peaty nature and liable to drought and looseness of texture can be improved by the addition of large amounts of clay of an ordinary character.
The extreme rigour of the climate of Tibet, which combines great cold with great drought, makes the country essentially very poor, and the chief portion of it little better than desert.
They split drought (Vritra) and bring rain, and cause earthquakes.
The district suffered from drought in 1896-1897.
Sage is a good companion to rosemary since both are drought tolerant.
With regard to the occurrence of plants, such as Juncus effusus, which possess xerophytic characters and yet live in situations which are not ordinarily of marked physiological dryness, it should be remembered that such habitats are liable to occasional physical drought; and a plant must eventually succumb if it is not adapted to the extreme conditions of its habitat.
The effects of a prolonged autumn drought, as distinguished from spring and summer drought, are shown in the very low yield of turnips in 1899.
Occasionally, the whole country suffers much from drought; but disastrous floods not unfrequently occur, particularly in the spring, when the beds of the rivers are inadequate to contain the increased volume of water caused by the rapid melting of the snows on the Carpathians.
For some years previously the pastoral industry had been declining Drought.
Thus, within the last quarter of the 19th century - and, as a matter of fact, only fourteen years apart - two royal commissions on agriculture were appointed, the one in a year of memorable flood, 1879, and the other in a year of disastrous drought, 1893.
From these structural and palaeontological evidences, geologists suppose that the formation of the cave was carried on simultaneously with the excavation of the valley; that the small streams, flowing down the upper ramifications of the valley, entered the western opening of the cave, and traversing the fissures in the limestone, escaped by the lower openings in the chief valley; and that the rounded pebbles found in the shingle bed were carried in by these streams. It would be only at times of drought that the cave was frequented by animals, a theory which explains the small quantity of animal remains in the shingle.
These strange plants usually grow in rocky places with little or no earth to support them; and it is said that in times of drought the cattle resort to them to allay their thirst, first ripping them up with their horns and tearing off the outer skin, and then devouring the moist succulent parts.
Yellowing is a common sign of water-logged roots, and if accompanied by wilting may be due to drought.
But when Greek deities were introduced into Rome on the advice of the Sibylline books (in 495 B.C., on the occasion of a severe drought), Demeter, the Greek goddess of seed and harvest, whose worship was already common in Sicily and Lower Italy, usurped the place of Ceres in Rome, or rather, to Ceres were added the religious rites which the Greeks paid to Demeter, and the mythological incidents which originated with her.
Broadly speaking, the forests here yield to steppes, and the soil is very fertile; but the whole region suffers periodically from drought.
The absence of the ordinary bright green colours of vegetation is another peculiarity of this flora, almost all the plants having glaucous or whitened stems. Foliage is reduced to a minimum, the moisture of the plant being stored up in massive or fleshy stems against the long-continued drought.
There is little snow, no severe winter cold, and no summer drought.
What was once a large river is now a tiny rivulet because of the drought?
The climate is generally such as to secure the population the necessaries of life without severe labour; the extremes of heat and drought are such as to render the land unsuitable for pasture, and the people everywhere subsist by cultivation of the soil or commerce, and live in settled villages or towns.
With the exceptions of 1891 and 1894, every year in the period 1891-1900 was stricken by drought.
Mangels are sown earlier and have a longer period of growth than turnips; if they become well established in the summer they are less susceptible to autumn drought.
The average rainfall is in.; it is, however, uncertain; periods of drought have extended over three years.
Probably, at least half of these represent Australians, impelled to emigrate by years of drought.
Despite the many obstacles it had to meet, including drought, commercial depression and the hostility of many of the ex-burghers, the crown colony administration had achieved remarkable results.
The yellowing and subsequent casting of leaves, for instance, is a very general symptom of disease in plants, and may be induced by drought, extremes of temperature, insufficient or excessive illumination, excess of water at the roots, the action of parasitic Fungi, insects, worms, &c., or of poisonous gases, and so forth; and extreme caution is necessary in.
The effects of a prolonged [[Table Ix]].-Estimated Annual Average Yield per Acre of Crops in spring and summer drought, like that of 1893, are exemplified in the circumstance that four corn crops and the two hay crops all registered very low average yields that year, viz.
There are no navigable streams. The climate and productions are not unlike those of Java, though the rains are heavier, the drought more severe, and the fertility less.
The country suffers also from periods of excessive heat and general drought, while locusts occasionally sweep over the land, devouring every green thing.
If it allows of too free drainage drought sets in and the plants, not getting enough water for their needs, become stunted in size.
In both the Castiles the central plateau has a naturally fertile soil, for after rain a luxuriant vegetation appears; but drought is common, owing to the insufficient volume of the rivers, and the failure of the Spaniards to extend the fine system of irrigation which the Moors originated.
They owe their capacity to live under the most inhospitable conditions to the dual nature of the organism, and to their capacity to withstand extremes of heat, cold and drought without destruction.
In the Mexican house the plants will generally be able to withstand greater drought occasionally, being greatly assisted by their thick pseudobulbs.
In the north, spring planting of strawberries is generally advised for market conditions; although planting in early fall or late summer is successful when the ground is well prepared and when it does not suffer from drought.
In time of drought the water in the canals and boezems is allowed to run back into the polders, and so serve a double purpose as water-reservoirs.
She received the prophet with hospitality, sharing with him her all but exhausted store, in faith of his promise in the name of the God of Israel that the supply would not fail so long as the drought lasted.
Elsewhere in India the rainfall is usually sufficient for all the cultivation of the district, but about every eleven years comes a season of drought, during which canal water is so precious as to make it worth while to construct costly canals merely to serve as a protection against famine.