This policy brief highlights drought impacts. All life on Earth is connected through water as part of a complex, interconnected planetary system. Drought stresses and sometimes breaks those life-sustaining connections. Functioning ecosystems underpin the quality of life in both developed and developing countries. The food-water-energy nexus can spread the impacts of drought over economic sectors, ecosystem functions and social systems. Access to potable water directly affects human health and urban and economic growth. In places where people practice subsistence farming or pastoralism without government-backed assistance, drought can lead to famine, conflict and mass migration. Water for agriculture affects food security, consumer prices and related economic activity.