Table 1 Drought categories based on cumulative annual rainfall
Drought category | General description | Cumulative drought over 5 years | Cumulative drought over 7 years |
|---|---|---|---|
Zero-to-moderate drought | Not exposed to extreme drought | - | - |
Very dry drought | During drought the relative level of dryness is intensely dry | Population in top 19.8% of dryness | Population in top 15.9% of dryness |
Recent long period | In relative dryness for long unbroken period in the last two years (five months of relative dryness elapse before Hutchinson count method begins) | In relative dryness for 14-to-27 months between 2003-2005/6 | In relative dryness for 15-to-21 months between 2005-2007/8 |
Constant drought | In drought for an extreme number of months | In drought for 12-to-32 months between 2001-2005/6 | In drought for 21-to-32 months between 2001-2007/8 |
Constant drought with a recent long period | Experienced both constant drought (i.e. many months) and a recent long period of relative dryness (i.e. unbroken dryness that developed into drought) | - | - |