Climate change accelerates the frequency of sudden droughts, says study

Although droughts are generally considered a long-term phenomenon, some can appear more suddenly in a few weeks under certain conditions.

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And climate change favors some of these conditions: The lack of rain in some areas and greater evaporation, related to high temperatures, tend to dry the soil more quickly.

“Prepare for possible impacts, such as floods, droughts or extreme heat”, warns UN after La Niña

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After an exceptionally long period of the La Niña climate phenomenon, which intensified drought and rain, a possible return of the El Niño heat episode threatens to break temperature records around the world – warned the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) this Wednesday- fair (1st). ☀️

For this study, published in the journal Science, scientists analyzed data from satellite observations and soil moisture over a period of more than 60 years (1951-2014).

Are flash droughts becoming the new normal?

Drought intensification rates have sped up and there has been a transition toward more flash droughts over 74% of the global regions in the past 64 years Yuan et al. @ScienceMagazine https://t.co/dFQ0AZTQtp
— Ronnie Abolafia-Rosenzweig (@AbolafiaRonnie) April 14, 2023

Flash droughts are increasing “particularly in Europe, northern and eastern Asia, the Sahel, and the west coast of South America,” Xing Yuan, lead author of the study and professor at the university of information and science sciences, told AFP. technology from Nanking, China.

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They are “dangerous because of their rapid appearance, which does not give enough time to prepare,” he added.

The study shows that the frequency of classic droughts has also increased in most regions, which tend to occur more quickly. There is a real “transition from slow droughts to sudden droughts,” says Yuan.

(With AFP)

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