US EditionHeat waves that spark damaging droughts are happening more frequently, study finds
Heat-first flash droughts affected 16.7% of Earth's land by 2023 and have increased eightfold in rate since 2000, driven by global warming and climate shifts.
- Researchers from South Korea and Australia found heat waves triggering rapid droughts are spreading globally at an accelerating rate, according to a study published in Friday's Science Advances.
- The team found a `change point` around 2000 that linked long-term warming and faster land–air heat exchange to the acceleration of heat-then-drought situations, Kim and Yeh said.
- The study found the recent spread rate was eight times higher than in the 1980s, and affected area increased from about 2.5% to around 16.7% in 2023, with Kim noting heat-first events produce stronger droughts.
- Communities and farmers face sudden threats to water and crops, and wildfire risk increases, especially in South America, western Canada, Alaska, the western U.S. and parts of Africa, as compound extremes intensify since 2000.
- Some scientists speculate the planet may have crossed a `tipping point` as warmer air pulls more soil moisture, driving more `flash droughts` and increasing long-term risks.
43 Articles
43 Articles
The number of combined disasters, including heat waves followed by droughts, has increased eightfold since the 2000s. The strengthening of the interaction between the ground and the atmosphere is exacerbating the vicious cycle of disasters. As combined disasters, in which droughts and heat waves strike simultaneously, are on the rise worldwide, the type in which heat waves begin first and droughts follow has increased sharply since the early 200…
Scientists confirm that waves of devastating drought are becoming more frequent due to warming. A climate study by scientists from South Korea and Australia has revealed the rapid spread of abnormal heat, which instantly dries out the soil. Over the past forty years, the area of land affected by such combined impacts of the elements has increased from 2.5% to almost 17%.
Heat waves that cause sudden and harmful droughts spread around the world at an accelerated pace, highlighting how extreme events driven by climate change can be dangerously potentiated among themselves, found a new study.
The combination of heat and drought is particularly dangerous for humans and nature: forest fires, crop losses and water shortages threaten ecosystems and food security. Climate change makes such extreme weather conditions more and more common. A study now shows that heat-threat events caused by heat waves have increased eightfold since the beginning of the millennium. The results also point to global trends as well as [...] Die Beitrag Combined…
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