Periods of drought can have significant environmental, agricultural, health, economic and social consequences. The effect varies according to vulnerability. For example, subsistence farmers are more likely to migrate during drought because they do not have alternative food sources. Areas with populations that depend on subsistence farming as a major food source are more vulnerable to drought-triggered famine.

Drought can also reduce water quality, because lower water flows reduce dilution of pollutants and increase contamination of remaining water sources. Common consequences of drought include:

• Diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock
• Dust bowls, themselves a sign of erosion, which further erode the landscape
• Dust storms, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification and erosion
• Famine due to lack of water for irrigation
• Habitat damage, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
• Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases
• Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees
• Reduced electricity production due to reduced water flow through hydroelectric dams
• Shortages of water for industrial users
• Snakes migration and increases in snakebites
• Social unrest
• War over natural resources, including water and food
• Wildfires, such as Australian bushfires, are more common during times of drought