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.
New research by scientists at the University of Calgary has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. It's a finding that ...
Ecology
Jun 1, 2026
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A new analysis of global wildfire activity in 2025 reveals the world experienced some of the most destructive and deadly fire events in recent history, despite the second lowest area burned since 2002. It highlights a continued ...
Earth Sciences
May 31, 2026
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India and Pakistan are no strangers to heat. This time of year is the worst, as heat peaks before the monsoon brings cooler conditions from June.
Environment
May 30, 2026
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90
The once-majestic oak tree is all but dead: battered by repeated heat waves, it has shut down vital functions to conserve water and is slowly dying in a French forest.
Ecology
May 29, 2026
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30
As climate change intensifies drought conditions across the Southwest, researchers at The University of New Mexico are examining how agricultural water is used in one of New Mexico's most critical river systems.
Earth Sciences
May 29, 2026
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When the Dome Fire tore through the Mojave Desert in 2020, it reduced 1 million Eastern Joshua trees to blackened skeletons. Scientists expected the underground ecosystem to be equally devastated. Instead, they found it thriving.
Ecology
May 29, 2026
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According to two recently published studies led by scientists from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the Brazilian Amazon is already beginning to experience scenarios previously projected for the coming ...
Environment
May 28, 2026
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As climate change increases the frequency of drought, excessive rainfall, and other extreme weather events, farmers face growing uncertainty about crop production. Understanding how farmers perceive and respond to that uncertainty ...
Agriculture
May 28, 2026
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5
In the next five years, the Earth is overwhelmingly likely to surge again and again past the international climate threshold set as safe and shatter its hottest-year record along the way, according to new United Nations climate ...
Environment
May 28, 2026
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63
Global climate change is reshaping agricultural ecosystems. As warmer winters become more prevalent, snow droughts caused by insufficient snowfall are becoming more frequent. This leaves winter wheat, which relies on snow ...
Ecology
May 27, 2026
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