NH
Natural Hazards

Sociohydrology

Define and assess drought, the herculean challenge!

November 29, 2021
Define and assess drought, the herculean challenge!
The drying out of the soil in the wadis of the Dead Sea Valley. Credit: Stefan Schmitt (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

The frequency and intensity of drought periods have increased since the 1950s over most land areas [1]. In fact, between 1998 and 2017, drought was the sixth natural hazard associated with disasters (4.8% of the total number of disasters) but the second in terms of the total number of affected people (33% of the total number of affected people), causing more than 21,000 deaths [2]. For example, in ...[Read More]

Diagnosing drought in northeast Brazil

and May 3, 2021
A dam, an almost empty water reservoir and a small abandoned boat
Figure 1. An almost completely dry reservoir at Quixeramobim in the state of Ceará, northeast Brazil, during the 2012-2018 drought. Photo credit: Juliana Lima Oliveira (FUNCEME), with permission.

Worldwide, drought has put lives and livelihoods under serious threat. People are increasingly suffering from drought, but we often also aggravate drought ourselves. Fortunately, solutions to drought problems are mainly in our own hands as well. Drought is not just a water problem. It is a societal problem.   Droughts: a local problem with global relevance In recent years, droughts seem to be ...[Read More]