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.
Soaking mid-winter rains have brought some relief to drought-stricken farms and rural towns across southern Australia, but the crisis is not over yet.
Environment
Aug 11, 2025
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Researchers are calling for a more reliable approach to understanding water-related hazards by explicitly accounting for uncertainty in their predictions, arguing this could improve how communities prepare for the risk of ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 6, 2025
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A critical water source for vast areas of the Northern Territory (NT) is drying at an accelerating rate, according to new findings, with losses clearly visible from space.
Environment
Aug 4, 2025
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The top-line findings of a massive analysis of the growth rate of more than 20,000 tropical trees in more than 30 countries may at first seem reassuring: that droughts over the past century have had a minimal effect on their ...
Ecology
Aug 1, 2025
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41
New findings from studying over two decades of satellite observations reveal that Earth's continents have experienced unprecedented freshwater loss since 2002, driven by climate change, unsustainable groundwater use and extreme ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 25, 2025
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388
With four areas of the U.K. now facing drought conditions, new research from the University of Surrey shows that helping households use less water means first understanding their everyday habits—and getting the public onboard ...
Environment
Jul 16, 2025
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The Southwest United States is currently facing its worst megadrought of the past 1,200 years. According to a recent study by the University of Texas at Austin, the drought could continue at least until the end of the century, ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 15, 2025
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326
With intensifying global warming and climate change, drought has become a major threat to global agriculture, impacting crop yields and food security. To survive such adverse events, plants have evolved several strategies. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 14, 2025
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Almost two-thirds of the world's population is affected by the monsoon—the annual arrival of intense rains in areas north and south of the Equator. These drenching rains tend to arrive during each hemisphere's summer.
Environment
Jul 10, 2025
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In the late 2010s, when Assistant Professor Flavio Lehner worked for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, water managers often asked him about the drought in the Southwest. Was the low precipitation ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2025
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