Extreme events are becoming increasingly observable, intense, and interconnected. Drought, traditionally viewed as a regional and temporary phenomenon, is now undergoing a fundamental shift. We introduce the concept of “Day Zero Drought” to describe a threshold where water demand exceeds available supply under persistent drought conditions. This study shows that water scarcity is no longer confin ...[Read More]
ECS Spotlight: When “Day Zero Drought” Dries the Tap: How Drought is Reshaping Water Scarcity in the Anthropocene
Spatial distribution of the decadal ToFE of DZD events across the globe from 1900 to 2100. Colored shading indicates the first decade during which DZD becomes statistically attributable to anthropogenic climate change, defined as the first decade in which the Fraction of Attributable Risk is greater than 0.99 (FAR ≥ 0.99). Gray regions indicate grid cells where no DZD event attributable to anthropogenic climate change is projected to emerge before 2100. For regions with reservoirs, the ToFE is considered to be the first decade after the year of completion of their respective reservoirs, when all DZD criteria are simultaneously met. By aligning the emergence timing with the operational onset of water storage infrastructure to reflect the real-world system resilience dynamics. The black stars denote the locations of the reservoirs threatened by DZD emergence.
