Drought
New! Public health effects of drought can be severe, but they are often hard to observe or measure directly. To address this issue, CDC developed Preparing for the Health Effects of Drought: A Resource Guide for Public Health ProfessionalsCdc-pdf. The guide has five modules that provide steps to success, tips, best practices, and where to find more resources. Also, it offers two attractive, user-friendly handouts that can be easily customized and reproduced for community outreach.
When drought affects a community, it can bring devastating consequences: increased risk to human health, decreased water quality, and decreased food production. These effects can be far-reaching, complex, and costly.
Drought is a recurring event. Planning and preparation can help reduce the impact of drought on communities. Here are a few examples of our current activities to help communities address drought:
- Collaborating with organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to identify variables within their National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). We use this information to better understand the effects of drought on the environment and people in their communities.
- Supporting public health partners to better understand the health impacts from drought and improve drought resiliency.
- Providing technical assistance to communities where drought may impact private well water.
- Creating a resource guide for public health professionals about determining the health consequences of drought. The document will provide guidance on how to measure vulnerability and health impact of drought. It also describes where to find the needed data, and how best to analyze them.
For more information on CDC’s work with drought, visit our website here: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/drought/.