David Vehonsky, age l0, of Cleveland, Ohio, for his question:

Why are there droughts when the earth has much rainfall?

It is true that enough rain falls upon the earth to provide everything with plenty of water. But the rainfall is uneven and most of the world supply drops into the ocean. The global weather is restless and turbulent and We cannot depend upon it to be orderly. A stormy season may douse a certain area with deluges. This may steal the water that normally falls on some place far away.

Sometimes an area gets many seasons of extra rainfall. This often means that other places must go short of water for many seasons. such a drought may last for one season or for several years.