Droughts, as a research topic, encompass the characterization, drivers, impacts, and prediction of prolonged periods of abnormally low water availability in the atmosphere, soil, and hydrological systems. Scientific study distinguishes meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socio-economic droughts, often quantified using indices such as the Standardized Precipitation Index or Palmer Drought Severity Index. Research investigates land–atmosphere feedbacks, large-scale circulation anomalies, soil moisture deficits, vegetation stress, and groundwater depletion, as well as the modulation of drought frequency, duration, and intensity by climate variability and anthropogenic climate change, with implications for water resources management, ecosystem functioning, and risk assessment.
Much of the Midwest is experiencing drought due to very dry weather in the late summer and early fall. Half of the state of Illinois is in a severe drought, and portions of Central Illinois are in an extreme drought, affecting ...
Environment
Oct 28, 2025
0
42
A new study led by Prof. Shao Hua at the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed that aridity and grazing jointly reduce the resistance of plant communities, thereby ...
Ecology
Oct 28, 2025
0
17
Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) are affected by extreme weather events. Heavy rainfall has repeatedly led to devastating floods in Jordan, for example. Climate change exacerbates the vulnerability ...
Environment
Oct 28, 2025
0
16
Floods account for up to 40% of weather-related disasters worldwide, and their frequency has more than doubled since 2000, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Global flood ...
Environment
Oct 27, 2025
0
50
Nearly 8 in 10 people living in multidimensional poverty—887 million out of 1.1 billion globally—are directly exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, or air pollution.
Environment
Oct 17, 2025
1
31
A global research effort led by Colorado State University shows that extreme, prolonged drought conditions in grasslands and shrublands would greatly limit the long-term health of crucial ecosystems that cover nearly half ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2025
1
71
Across India, torrential rains over the past few months have swallowed an entire village in the Himalayas, flooded Punjab's farmlands and brought Kolkata to a standstill. This all happened in a monsoon season in which total ...
Environment
Oct 16, 2025
0
34
Dry soils in northern Mexico may trigger episodes of simultaneous drought and heat wave hundreds of miles away in the southwestern United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, according to a new study. These "hot ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 9, 2025
0
77
California heads into the new water year facing continued risks from climate-driven extremes, the California Department of Water Resources said.
Earth Sciences
Oct 1, 2025
0
69
Droughts have withered crops in Peru, fires have scorched the Amazon and hydroelectric dams in Ecuador have struggled to keep the lights on as rivers dry up. Scientists say the cause may lie high above the rainforest, where ...
Environment
Sep 30, 2025
2
33
