Flash droughts to occur more frequently in warmer future: study

NANJING -- Chinese scientists have revealed that the globe is undergoing a transition toward more frequent flash drought events, and that the transition is closely related to climate change caused by human activities.

Flash droughts, or the rapid onset of drought, will be witnessed more commonly in most land areas in the warmer future, according to the study paper published in the journal Science.

In general, the onset of drought takes months or even longer. But with the combined action of abnormally high temperatures and an extreme precipitation deficit, soil moisture decreases rapidly, leading to severe drought within a few weeks.

Flash droughts reduce the carbon sink functions of terrestrial ecosystems rapidly, and can cause disasters such as heatwaves, wildfires and power shortages, posing a threat to both ecosystems and socio-economic development, the paper said.

A team from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) conducted research based on data concerning drought events between 1951 and 2014. They observed the increasingly rapid onset of droughts worldwide, indicating a global transition toward more frequent flash droughts.

The results of the study show that the transition is significantly associated with anthropogenic climate change, such as emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, said Yuan Xing, the NUIST team leader.

Further research predicts that by 2100, in a warmer future, the transition will expand to the majority of the world's land areas, Yuan said.