News and research to help you plan for drought December 2024 In this edition of Dry Horizons: Lower freshwater levels could indicate drier phase on Earth World Drought Atlas shares solutions through adaptation pathways framework Study reveals increasing role of evaporative demand in western U.S. drought Fondurane Ornithological Reserve in southern France, shown here during a drought. Zenistock/Adobe Stock, licensed image. Lower freshwater levels could indicate drier phase on Earth Earth’s freshwater levels dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and have been low ever since, according to findings published in Surveys in Geophysics.  An international team of scientists used observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, operated by the German Aerospace Center, German Research Centre for Geosciences and NASA. These satellites show changes in the mass of water both on and under the ground by measuring fluctuations in Earth’s gravity. (Data and maps are available at nasagrace.unl.edu through a partnership with the National Drought Mitigation Center.)  From 2015–2023, the average amount of freshwater in lakes, rivers and aquifers measured 290 cubic miles lower than the average levels from 2002–2014, according to satellite data. The shift could indicate a persistently drier phase on Earth's continents, according to researchers. Read report A drought had lowered water levels around Rabbit Island, the largest of Italy's Pelagie Islands archipelago. andrea/Adobe Stock, licensed image. World Drought Atlas shares solutions through adaptation pathways framework The World Drought Atlas, published at the 16th session of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, calls for a shift from reactive to proactive measures in responding to drought and its impacts.  The report covers the complexity of drought, impacted global systems, regional perspectives and drought risk adaptation. It also provides new insights and solutions through an adaptation pathways framework. This is a tool that uses pathways to show how and when to implement water resource management, land use management and governance measures.  By sharing these perspectives and tools, authors encourage a shift towards proactive and prospective approaches in drought risk management. The atlas is a joint effort of the European Commission, International Drought Resilience Alliance and UNCCD, in collaboration with numerous other organizations. Visit atlas Aerial view of severe drought conditions of Folsom Lake, a reservoir in Folsom, California. Matt Gush/Adobe Stock, licensed image. Study shows increased role of evaporative demand in western U.S. drought Evaporative demand has played a bigger role than reduced precipitation in western U.S. droughts since 2000. That’s according to a new study published in Science Advances by a team of University of California, Los Angeles and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Integrated Drought Information System climate researchers. Researchers separated droughts due to changing weather patterns from those resulting from human-caused climate change over a 70-year period to study the effects of higher temperatures on drought. They found that climate change accounted for 80% of the increase in evaporative demand since 2000, and more than 90% during drought periods.   Based on this data, researchers conclude that climate change has been the single biggest driver increasing drought severity and expansion of drought area since 2000. Read study Dry Horizons comes out the fourth Wednesday of each month. If you have questions or would like further information, please write to us at ndmc.comm@unl.edu. Access the Dry Horizons archive Subscribe to Dry Horizons © 2024 National Drought Mitigation Center. All rights reserved. National Drought Mitigation Center University of Nebraska-Lincoln P.O. Box 830988 3310 Holdrege Street Lincoln, Nebraska, 68583-0988 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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