Which word means the same as 'drought'?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the given question:

It hasn’t rained a drop for months.
A drought has just set in and two people in the dialogue below are very concerned…
Sally: I think a drought has set in. It hasn’t rained a drop for months.
Ethan: I think so, too, but didn’t it rain last month?
Sally: It did rain last month, but the rainfall was only half the monthly average.
Ethan: Oh. That bad?!
Sally: That’s right. It’s really bad. I’m rally concerned though not panicked yet.
Ethan: I don’t blame you. The pastures have browned out even before the summer has arrived.
Sally: Yeah, and the soil has been baked so hard that the plow can’t even break the soil.
Ethan: Looks like it’s going to be an ongoing thing that would get worse each day.
Sally: Yeah. If it doesn’t rain, it's going to get critical.