{"id":81832,"date":"2022-05-06T02:27:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T00:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/?p=81832"},"modified":"2022-05-03T14:17:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T12:17:13","slug":"flash-droughts-coming-on-faster-global-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/en\/environment\/flash-droughts-coming-on-faster-global-study-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Flash Droughts\u2019 Coming on Faster, Global Study Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just like flash floods, flash droughts come on fast \u2014 drying out soil in a matter of days to weeks. These events can wipe out crops and cause huge economic losses. And according to scientists, the speed at which they dry out the landscape has increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Texas Tech University found that although the number of flash droughts has remained stable during the past two decades, more of them are coming on faster. Globally, the flash droughts that come on the fastest \u2014 sending areas into drought conditions within just five days \u2014 have increased by about 3%-19%. And in places that are especially prone to flash droughts \u2014 such as South Asia, Southeast Asia and central North America \u2014 that increase is about 22%-59%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising global temperatures are probably behind the faster onset, said co-author and UT Jackson School Professor Zong-Liang Yang, who added that the study\u2019s results underscore the importance of understanding flash droughts and preparing for their effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery year, we are seeing record-breaking warming episodes, and that is a good precursor to these flash droughts,\u201d he said. \u201cThe hope and purpose [of this research] is to minimize the detrimental effects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research was published in Nature Communications<\/em><\/a>. The study was led by doctoral student Yamin Qing and Professor Shuo Wang, both of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash droughts are relatively new to science, with the advancement of remote sensing technology during the past couple of decades helping reveal instances of soil rapidly drying out. This serves as the telltale sign of the onset of a flash drought and can make drought conditions appear seemingly out of the blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the name suggests, flash droughts are short lived, usually lasting only a few weeks or months. But when they occur during critical growing periods, they can cause disasters. For example, in the summer of 2012, a flash drought in the central United States caused the corn crop to wither, leading to an estimated $35.7 billion in losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this study, the scientists analyzed global hydroclimate data sets that use satellite soil moisture measurements to capture a global picture of flash drought and how it has changed during the past 21 years. The data showed that about 34%-46% of flash droughts came on in about five days. The rest emerge within a month, with more than 70% developing in half a month or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they examined the droughts over time, they noticed the flash droughts happening more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study also revealed the importance of humidity and variable weather patterns, with flash droughts becoming more likely when there\u2019s a shift from humid to arid conditions. That makes regions that undergo seasonal swings in humidity \u2014 such as Southeast Asia, the Amazon Basin, and the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States \u2014 flash drought hot spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should pay close attention to the vulnerable regions with a high probability of concurrent soil drought and atmospheric aridity,\u201d said Wang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Svoboda, the director of the National Drought Mitigation Center and originator of the term \u201cflash drought,\u201d said the advancement in drought-detecting technology and modeling tools \u2014 such as those used in this study \u2014 has led to growing awareness of the influence and impact of flash droughts. He said the next big step is translating this knowledge into on-the-ground planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can go back and watch that drought evolve in 2012 and then compare it to how that tool did,\u201d said Svoboda, who was not part of the study. \u201cWe really have the stage well set to do a better job of tracking these droughts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.<\/p>\n\n\n

Source<\/h5>\r\n\n\n\n

The University of Texas at Austin 2022<\/a><\/p>\n

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