Greenhouse gases raise risk of ‘flash droughts’, Chinese study finds
- Researchers in Nanjing say the extreme conditions could become more frequent because of human activities
- The events are rare and difficult to predict but devastating when they do happen
A “flash drought” that hit southeast China two years ago was similar to one in the US Midwest a decade earlier and could happen more often because of human activities, according to a new study by Chinese scientists.
In a paper published in the peer-reviewed Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters this month, researchers from Nanjing said human-induced climate change not only doubled the likelihood of another flash drought like the one in 2020, but also would increase the onset speed and intensity of such an event.
Flash droughts are rare and more difficult to predict but when they do happen, they inflict great damage, particularly during harvest or wildfire season.
They were little studied until a severe drought hit the US Midwest in 2012, causing a multibillion-dollar agricultural disaster. Five years later, similar conditions occurred in the northern United States, attracting international attention.