The 2019 drought in Namibia: An overview
The 2019 drought in Namibia: An overview
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2019 年纳米比亚干旱：概述
DOI：
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发表时间：
2020
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
R. Shikangalah
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
R. Shikangalah
纳米比亚是最容易受到气候变化影响的国家之一，因为该国大部分地区干旱。气候变化导致的事件，如干旱，一旦发生，就会使大多数人口陷入贫困。干旱已成为纳米比亚的一个共同特点。2019年，另一场干旱袭击了纳米比亚，由此产生的几个影响成为新闻。这项研究旨在概述2019年新闻头条的干旱影响。这项研究采用了一项基于国内和国际新闻报道的在线调查。研究发现，2019年干旱期间的降雨量是温得和克自1891年以来记录的最低降雨量，也是纳米比亚过去90年来最严重的干旱。降雨稀少、零星，加上土壤湿度低，导致农业产量非常低，水资源极度短缺，影响到全国各地的几个社区。结果，纳米比亚至少有三分之一的人口没有足够的粮食供应，数千头牲畜因干旱死亡。研究报告的结论是，需要长期采用和使用各种干旱生存机制，而不是只在发生干旱时才实施这些机制。这将大大减少对干预措施的依赖。例如，预算规划可侧重于建立所需的海水淡化厂和基础设施，以便将水从沿海抽到遥远的贫困社区。
Namibia is one of most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change due the aridity to most parts of the country. Events resulting from climate changes such droughts drive the majority of population to poverty when they occur. Drought spells have become a common feature in Namibia. In 2019, another drought hit Namibia and several resultant impacts made news. This study aimed at providing an overview of the drought impacts from the 2019 news headlines. The study employed an online survey on reported events based on both national and international news reports. The study found that the rainfall during the 2019 drought was the lowest recorded in Windhoek since 1891 and the drought was the worst in the last 90 years in Namibia. A combination of poor, sporadic rainfall and low soil moisture has led to very low agriculture production and an extreme shortage of water, affecting several communities across the country. As a result, at least one-third of the Namibian population was left without adequate food supplies and thousands of livestock perished due to drought. The study concluded that there is a need to adopt and use various drought survival mechanisms on a permanent basis rather than only implementing them when drought occurs. This would largely reduce the dependency on the interventions. Budgetary planning could focus for instance on establishing the required desalination plants and infrastructure for pumping water from the coast to distant needy communities.