“Rising Threat: Study Warns of Increasingly Common Multi-Year Droughts with Warming Climate”

The study conducted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research (WSL) and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has revealed alarming trends in the increase of persistent multi-year droughts since 1980. The research, published in Science, highlights the growing impact of human-induced climate change on global ecosystems and the urgent need for policy action to address these challenges.

One of the most striking examples of the devastating effects of multi-year droughts is the fifteen-year megadrought in Chile, the longest in a thousand years, which has severely depleted the country’s water reserves and impacted vital industries like mining. This case underscores the urgent need for proactive measures to mitigate the impact of droughts on vulnerable regions worldwide.

Using global meteorological data and advanced modeling techniques, the research team identified a concerning trend of longer, more frequent, and more extreme multi-year droughts that are expanding in coverage. Areas affected by drought have increased by an average of fifty thousand square kilometers annually since 1980, leading to significant damage to ecosystems, agriculture, and energy production.

The study also uncovered previously overlooked extreme drought events, such as the prolonged drought in the Congo rainforest from 2010 to 2018, highlighting the need for improved monitoring and early warning systems for drought-prone regions. By analyzing anomalies in rainfall and evapotranspiration, the researchers were able to assess the impact of drought on natural ecosystems worldwide, including tropical forests and the Andes, where observational data is limited.

The findings of the study reveal contrasting impacts of drought on different ecosystems, with temperate grasslands being most severely affected by megadroughts. Regions like the western USA, central and eastern Mongolia, and southeastern Australia were identified as hotspots for multi-year ecological droughts, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions in these areas.

Looking ahead, the researchers stress the importance of reevaluating current mitigation strategies to account for the increasing frequency and severity of megadroughts. By providing policymakers with a comprehensive inventory of drought events, the research aims to inform more realistic preparation and prevention measures to safeguard ecosystems and communities from the long-term effects of climate change.

The study was conducted as part of the EMERGE Project funded by the WSL Extreme Program, with Professor Francesca Pellicciotti leading the research efforts. The team’s collaborative project, “MegaWat,” focuses on understanding the effects of megadroughts in European water towers and developing strategies for management and adaptation in the face of climate challenges.