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War Winds Down, Drought Rages on
Weather in Afghanistan follows the monsoon cycle. Due to the flow of the
jet
stream, the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia receive a great
deal
of rain throughout the monsoon season and the rest of the year almost
no rain
at all. The current three-year drought in Afghanistan is due to a change
in
the flow of the jet stream. Gradually over the last several years, the
jet
stream cycle has been changing in such a way that each year the monsoon
rains
are reduced, thus limiting the supply of water to the region. It's
impossible to predict when the normal pattern will be restored.
Unless he was growing poppy (which requires less water than food crops),
the
average Afghan farmer was struggling to feed his children even before
the
drought began. His only hope is improved agriculture, including new crops
that require less water, such as the maize used in drought-ridden portions
of
Africa, and new methods of irrigation.
Such advances, however, require a resource that is even scarcer than
water,
capital.
Eric Bridgett
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(c) 2001 Millennium Relief & Development Services, vol. 2 no. 1
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