Overview

• A June study in Nature finds that increased atmospheric evaporative demand has amplified global drought severity by 40% since 1981.
• From 2018 to 2022, average drought-affected areas expanded 74% compared with 1981–2017, with evaporative demand driving 58% of that growth.
• Australia, southern South America and the western United States saw drought-hit land rise by 119%, 163% and 141% respectively over the past five years.
• Researchers combined high-resolution century-long climate records with advanced models to isolate how hotter air’s thirst pulls moisture faster than rainfall can replace it.
• Authors warn that continuing warming will further boost evaporative demand, threatening food and water security without urgent mitigation and adaptation.