Flash droughts becoming more common in parts of the world due to climate change

New research from the University of Southhampton (UK) shows that climate change is increasing the frequency of flash drought across large portions of the world.

Flash droughts develop rapidly, sometimes in just a matter of weeks. Flash droughts are primarily caused by a combination of very low precipitation, high temperatures, stronger winds and high evapotranspiration rates, which can quickly deplete the soil of critical moisture.

In addition to damaging vegetation, flash droughts can create ideal conditions that trigger intense heat waves and large wildfires.

The research team determined that the transformation from more typical, slow-growing, longer-term droughts to flash droughts over the past 64 years has been most notable in northern and Eastern Asia, Europe and the west coast of South America. However, it was also noted that eastern North America has seen a decrease in the number of flash droughts.

Key excerpts from the EurekAlert release......

“Climate change has effectively sped up the onset of droughts,” says Professor Justin Sheffield, Professor of Hydrology and Remote Sensing at the University of Southampton and co-author of the paper.

Professor Justin Sheffield added: “As we head towards a warmer future, flash droughts are becoming the new normal. Our models show that higher-emission scenarios would lead to a greater risk of flash droughts with quicker onset which pose a major challenge for climate adaptation.”