The increasing number of droughts estimated to occur within the next hundred years may result in massive food shortages and social unrest, experts suggest.

La Nina, which struck in 2010 and 2011, brought with it the greatest drought ever to hit Africa in recent years. Millions of people living in the Horn of Africa are still suffering from its effects and thousands have tried to flee the region.

Policies in favor of maintaining the dryland forests and investments in crop and livestock production can greatly help the plight of those living in East Africa. However, these policies have not been properly implemented and have resulted in increasing rates of inflation and malnourishment across the board.

"As compared to floods, droughts are often perceived by society to play a less dominant role when thinking of natural hazards. This may be caused by the circumstance that, unlike the effects of a flood which can be immediately seen and felt, droughts build up rather slowly, creeping and steadily growing," wrote Bernhard Lehner and Petra Döll in an earlier study about droughts.

"Whatever the reason, this perception has led to a relative disregard for droughts, despite the fact that they regularly cause serious damage to economy, society and the environment both in the affected areas and further afield," they added.

Experts have warned that the potent combination of more droughts, food shortages and poor policy choices may lead to a future breakdown in society which could await the rest of the world in the future, according to the Scientific American.

Droughts have also affected other regions all over the world such as Australia, England and the United States, with one of the hardest hit being the Amazon rainforest in South America.

"Global temperatures are predicted to continue increasing, and we anticipate that average precipitation totals in Kenya and Ethiopia will continue decreasing or remain below the historical average...Although drought is one reason for food shortages, it is exacerbated by stagnating agricultural development and continued population growth," said Chris Funk, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Society, as quoted by ScienceDaily.

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