DROUGHTS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: A REVIEW

Mounting evidence of rising global temperatures urge society and the scientific community with a pressing question: How is climate change affecting the intensity, duration and frequency of droughts at the local, regional and global scales? According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, droughts have become longer and more intense, and have affected larger areas since the 1970s. This review aims to (a) estimate global drought impacts of the future by presenting a detailed global picture (i.e. spatial and temporal distribution) of droughts in the 21st century through a synthesis of all available past research, (b) identify the research needs and urgent gaps in the field, and (c) conduct a comparative review of the main methodologies and tools used to date to assess future droughts in a changing climate, proposing a general modeling framework for future regional studies.