Warming Accelerates Global Drought Severity

Key driver increased by climate change is worsening droughts

Drought in New South Wales, Australia. Credit: Klae Mcguinness/Getty Images When we think of droughts, the first thing that comes to mind is lack of rain. But there is another important driver at play – evaporation. Atmospheric Evaporative Demand (AED) to be exact. As AED increases, the atmosphere becomes thirstier, increasing evaporation, which dries out the landscape, particularly effecting regions with low soil moisture such as Australia. New…

Warming accelerates global drought severity

Drought is one of the most common and complex natural hazards affecting the environment, economies and populations globally1–4. However, there are significant uncertainties in global drought trends4–6, and a limited understanding of the extent to which a key driver, atmospheric evaporative demand (AED), impacts the recent evolution of the magnitude, frequency, duration and areal extent of droughts. Here, by developing an ensemble of high-resoluti

Europe’s Drought-Riven Future Is Here, Decades Earlier Than Expected

Warming Intensifies Global Drought Severity

Global Temperatures Propel Unprecedented Surge in Drought Severity Across Continents In a groundbreaking new study published in Nature, researchers have unveiled compelling evidence linking rising global temperatures to an acceleration in drought severity worldwide. Utilizing sophisticated drought indices that integrate atmospheric evaporative demand and precipitation data, this research reveals an increasingly arid planet, warning of dire conse…