Why are dams causing recurring draughts? After an initial phase where the dam fills up shouldn’t there be same amount of water running out of it as before?
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There are a few differnt ways in which a dam might cause drought. Dams are built to serve a purpose, usually to create a resevoir of water. The water is needed for things like hydro power stations, irrigation or water supply. These may have their outlets far downstream in the river or even in different rivers altogether. That can cause droughts in the river downstream of the dam.
The amount of water needed also varies. Hydro power plants tend to be used for power spikes that slower power plants like coal or nuclear struggle with. So the hydro power plants often shut down to let the water reservoir refill so they can run when electricity prices are higher. That might cause droughts downstream of the power station, even if the power station and dam are located together.
You might also see droughts if there is high water usage from the resevoir. The water stored there is intended to be used when needed so when it is needed it is tapped down to its original level or even lower. This can cause droughts around the reservoir, places which used to have ground water supplied from the reservoir will become dry.
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