In 2011, the driest year in recorded Texas history, some demonstration efforts had to be abandoned.
In 2011, Texas' driest year on record, the average rainfall was less than 15in.
It is an angry red swath on the map, signifying what has been the driest year in the state's history.
Last year was the driest year on record since 1869, which is as far back as their records go.
However, elsewhere in the country, south-western Australia suffered its driest year on record in 2010, continuing decades of drying.
Last year was a tie for Phoenix's driest year on record, with just 2.8 inches of rain.
The average precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. for 2012 was 26.57 inches, 2.57 inches below average, making it the 15th driest year on record for the nation.
The failure of rains, in what is thought to be the driest year for 60 years in certain areas, has caused the immediate crisis.
Two successive failed rainy seasons in 12 months have led to the driest year since 1951 in some pastoralist regions of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Uganda.
The exodus is not the only indicator that a major food crisis is brewing in the Horn of Africa after the driest year for 60 years.
Officials have warned for months that the driest year on record has made brush, grown thick from previous wet years, especially susceptible to fires.
