Avery: Blog Of The Day

     A drought is when there is a long period without rain.  Such a long time without rain that water levels all over start going down.  Some places don't have much water to drink.  A drought can also work very fast.  It can make lake levels (especially in Texas) go down in just a few weeks. Many places around the world are suffering droughts all the time.  The drought has caused many people, in many places around the world to die.  Many people in Africa have been lacking on the amount of water that they need to drink.  That also means that people can not grow and harvest food or drink much water.
     This year in Texas has been the hottest 10 months since 1895 and there has been no rain.  There has been a serious drought from October 2010 until now all over Texas.  Luckily, the heat here in Texas is cooling down and right now the weather is in the 60s and 70s.  They also have a burn ban. That means they say you can't use fireworks, do campfires, use party snaps and party poppers. Some people even suggest that you don't grill outside, because just one tiny, little spark from a grill can catch your whole yard on fire. If you're grilling at a campsite or at a park you could catch stuff on fire there. Wild fires have spread out through 3.3 million acres of land in Texas because of what is happening.
     As you may know, on Labor Day this year, there were many fires in and around Austin.  Right now the fires around Austin are still happening.   It was all caused by having no rain for a very long time.  People were having fun, barbequing and camping.  The air and ground were so dry that a lot of things caught on fire.  What makes it worse is that the fires spread really quickly because everything was dry.  Here is a picture I found online of the fires in Austin Texas.

 

     The Texas drought effects me in some ways.  There is not much water to swim in.  For example, the water at my friend Kalli's lake has gotten much shallower.  It is shallow for about a few feet then there is drop off.   We also can't grow anything in our garden at home.  It also effects me because my friends that live in Austin are being evacuated because the fires are going towards their house.  We can't use too much water at home because we want to save it.