Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Giorgia Di Capua, Stefan Rahmstorf
Summary: Extreme weather events are occurring at a faster rate than expected, changing our understanding of the climate system and climate change issues. While some changes can be attributed to rising greenhouse gas emissions, further research is needed to explain other counterintuitive changes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gauranshi Raj Singh, C. T. Dhanya, Aniket Chakravorty
Summary: The increasing divergence between meteorological drought indicators, caused by changing climate conditions, raises concerns about their relevance in drought monitoring and modeling. In this study, the authors quantified the divergence between commonly used drought indices and observed enhanced dry extremes in the divergence of the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) with other indices. The seasonal dispersion analysis revealed a strong signal of dryness in the monsoon season by the newly developed standardized net precipitation index (SNEPI), which traditional indices failed to capture. Attribution analysis showed that shortwave radiative fluxes influence the divergence between SPI and SPEI, while characteristics of wet spells drive the divergence between SPEI and SNEPI, particularly in the monsoon season and tropical climate zones.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Manuela I. I. Brunner, Jonas Gotte, Christopher Schlemper, Anne F. F. Van Loon
Summary: This study assesses changes in the importance of different hydrological drought generation processes in the European Alps. The findings show that the changes in drought processes are stronger in high-elevation catchments, where there are clear changes in drought seasonality. The study also suggests that changes in drought severity and generation processes are related, with snowmelt-deficit droughts having larger deficits than cold temperature-induced droughts.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samantha Stevenson, Sloan Coats, Danielle Touma, Julia Cole, Flavio Lehner, John Fasullo, Bette Otto-Bliesner
Summary: Variability in hydroclimate has significant impacts on natural and human systems globally. This study shows that extreme precipitation events and decadal variability will be strongly influenced by climate change. The increasing frequency and intensity of both wet and dry precipitation events pose adaptation challenges beyond current experiences.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gauranshi Raj Singh, C. T. Dhanya, Aniket Chakravorty
Summary: A realistic evaluation of drought onset is crucial for effective mitigation strategies. A new drought index called the Standardized Net-Precipitation Distribution Index (SNEPI) is proposed, which incorporates the distribution characteristics of daily net-precipitation variable. SNEPI proves to be more efficient in capturing the present scenario of increasing dryness (wetness) in wet (dry) regions compared to the traditional Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. This proposed index may aid in better quantification and monitoring of meteorological drought under the scenario of changing climate.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yujie Liu, Jie Chen
Summary: This study focuses on the consistent and equitable global drought risk assessment for multiple regions, populations, and economic sectors under various climate change scenarios. Climate change is projected to increase future drought hazards, leading to damages to socioeconomic systems. The findings suggest that the inequality in future socioeconomic risk to drought among countries is predicted to increase with climate change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Josefin E. Nilsson, Stefan E. B. Weisner, Antonia Liess
Summary: Wetlands in agricultural areas play a crucial role in mitigating eutrophication by intercepting nutrient transports. This study finds that despite the expected decrease in hydraulic loading rate and nitrogen load during summer, wetlands can still effectively remove nitrogen from agricultural runoff in the future. The design and location of wetlands are important factors for achieving high nitrogen removal efficiency.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andrea Galletti, Giuseppe Formetta, Bruno Majone
Summary: Drought impact assessment is hindered by the complexity of droughts and the need for adequate modelling tools and observational data. This study overcomes this obstacle by focusing on potential drought hot-spots and linking a meteorological drought index to the hydrological drought status. The findings suggest that the proposed methodology can be a reliable tool for identifying potential drought hot-spots in large river basins.
Article
Development Studies
Heather Randell, Chengsheng Jiang, Xin-Zhong Liang, Raghu Murtugudde, Amir Sapkota
Summary: Food insecurity is a significant global health challenge exacerbated by climate change, with this study focusing on the impact of earthquake exposure and monsoon rainfall anomalies on food security in Nepal. Different environmental shocks have varying effects on food security, and further research is needed to understand and develop adaptation strategies.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Christopher Leifsson, Allan Buras, Anja Rammig, Christian Zang
Summary: Understanding the response of trees to extreme drought events is important for maintaining forest ecosystem services. Although tree-ring measurements are used to estimate the impact of droughts, the underlying physiological responses are difficult to constrain. In this study, we introduce the concept of functional legacies, which are temporary alterations of climate-growth relations, and quantify climate sensitivity deviations after extreme droughts. We found that gymnosperms show weaker coupling between growth and climate after droughts, while angiosperms show stronger coupling, which is related to site aridity and hydraulic safety margins.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xuanhua Song, Hao Chen, Tan Chen, Zhihao Qin, Sheng Chen, Ni Yang, Shulin Deng
Summary: This study investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics of groundwater drought in the Indochina Peninsula using GRACE data and a GRACE-based groundwater drought index. The results show that groundwater drought worsens significantly during 1979-2020 and becomes more frequent and intensified after 2000 in the southern Indochina Peninsula. The study also reveals that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), El Nin similar to o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and El Nin similar to o Modoki (ENSO_M) can affect the intensity of groundwater drought, with ENSO_M exacerbating it during the cold phases.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Seo-Yeon Park, Chanyang Sur, Jong-Suk Kim, Si-Jung Choi, Joo-Heon Lee, Tae-Woong Kim
Summary: The study proposed a quantitative approach to identify high drought risk areas in South Korea by considering future climate and socio-economic change scenarios, finding the Youngsan River Basin to be more vulnerable to drought. By calculating the severity and frequency of drought, assessing drought vulnerability, and demonstrating the relative sensitivity of drought risk to various future emission scenarios, the study provides valuable information for updating drought mitigation strategies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
H. Meresa, C. Murphy, S. E. Donegan
Summary: Hydrometeorological droughts are complex hazards expressed through the relative deviation in water availability. The development and propagation of drought is governed by hydrological processes. This study explores the impact of climate change on hydrometeorological drought and highlights that summer droughts are a critical climate change risk.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Peng Yang, Jun Xia, Yongyong Zhang, Chesheng Zhan, Wei Cai, Shengqin Zhang, Wenyu Wang
Summary: This study evaluates the impact of drought events under climate change on the Aksu River Basin, showing that human activities mainly affect runoff in certain areas. The research also highlights the seasonal patterns of drought development and intensity, emphasizing the importance of improving water-saving awareness and warning systems for drought risk mitigation.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
B. Zhang, S. Wang, J. Zhu
Summary: This study utilizes Bayesian model averaging to forecast future changes in hydroclimatic regimes over China, revealing that the Bayesian framework improves simulation reliability and accuracy compared to the ensemble mean simulation. It projects substantial increases in drought duration and severity for most areas of China, with the joint risk of drought duration and severity expected to increase under both emission scenarios. The likelihood of extreme droughts is also projected to rise with increasing radiative forcing.