Which drought type occurs due to environmental restrictions?

• A. Physical Drought
• B. Regulatory Drought
• C. Short Term
• D. Long Term

Answer: (B)

Regulatory drought is when restrictions imposed by authorities—often to protect ecosystems or comply with environmental flow requirements—limit water use even if rainfall and natural moisture aren’t severely lacking. This type of drought arises from policy and management decisions, such as allocations, curbs on outdoor watering, or mandatory curtailments, rather than from the land’s moisture deficit alone. That makes it distinct from a physical drought, which is driven by actual dryness and reduced precipitation, and from descriptors like short term or long term, which refer to duration rather than the cause.