Drought increases health risks like infections and heat stress through water scarcity, pollution, and social instability.
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Drought is increasingly recognized as more than an agricultural issue; it elevates risks associated with infections, heat stress, and social insecurity. As water sources dry up, pollutant concentrations rise, increasing toxic exposure risk. Drought-related events like dust storms and wildfires cause respiratory illnesses, while storing water in containers promotes mosquito breeding for diseases such as malaria and dengue. Furthermore, drought often coincides with heatwaves, leading to risks of heat exhaustion, heatstroke, dehydration, and kidney strain.
In Bulgaria, recurring water restrictions and projections of drier climates highlight the need for preparedness regarding health consequences from water scarcity. Recent summers have shown severe drought coupled with heatwaves and fires, affecting numerous communities. Climate change in Bulgaria is characterized by a trend toward drier and warmer conditions, with observed decreases in precipitation in high mountain areas—key freshwater sources—and increased intensity of rainfall events that hinder effective water capture. This issue is regional, also affecting North Macedonia.
Water management challenges are compounded by aging infrastructure, energy use for water production, and insufficient investment in new reservoirs. Globally, drought affects millions annually, threatening food security, increasing disease risk, and driving migration, with freshwater depletion accelerating worldwide due to global warming and human activities. Drought (a climatic event of reduced precipitation) differs from water stress (a socio-economic crisis where available resources cannot meet demand), which can be caused by drought but is often exacerbated by poor infrastructure or overuse.
Drought impacts health directly and indirectly through increased risks of waterborne diseases, foodborne illnesses due to contaminated irrigation, respiratory issues from fires, and nutritional insecurity leading to chronic diseases. Water scarcity forces reliance on polluted sources, increasing the risk of gastrointestinal and skin infections. Drought also influences vector populations; for example, reduced competition in stagnant pools favors mosquito breeding, raising the risk of West Nile Virus transmission, which has been documented in Bulgaria. Economically, drought reduces agricultural output, leading to job losses across sectors like farming, energy, tourism, and industry. Socially, prolonged uncertainty and financial strain from crop failure contribute to increased anxiety, depression, and emotional stress among vulnerable populations like farmers.
Solutions require both systemic (government/municipal) and individual actions. Systemic measures include developing specific health indices for drought warnings, implementing blue and green infrastructure (like urban parks), repairing water networks, and promoting the reuse of greywater. Drought is a complex socio-ecological hazard that is currently underappreciated in public health; further research is needed to better understand its biological mechanisms and develop precise short-, medium-, and long-term risk assessment tools for effective prevention and adaptation.
