Famine is an extreme shortage of food that affects a large region or population, causing widespread hunger, starvation, and death. Unlike missing a meal or even going hungry for a day, a famine means that entire communities cannot find enough food to survive for weeks, months, or even years.

Famines happen when crops fail due to drought, floods, or plant diseases, or when wars and conflicts prevent farmers from growing food or stop food from reaching people who need it. History's worst famines have killed millions of people. The Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, caused by a disease that destroyed potato crops, killed about one million people and forced another million to leave Ireland. China's Great Famine in the late 1950s, caused by failed government policies and natural disasters, killed tens of millions.

Today, organizations monitor food supplies worldwide to predict and prevent famines before they become catastrophic. When famine threatens a region, aid groups rush food, water, and medical supplies to help people survive. Modern transportation and international cooperation mean famines are less common and less deadly than in the past, though they still occur in areas affected by severe drought or war.