Two PMIP3/CMIP5 climate model ensemble simulations of the past millennium have been analysed to identify the occurrence of Asian mega-droughts. The Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) is used as the key metric for the data comparison of hydro-climatological conditions. The model results are compared with the proxy data of the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas (MADA). Our study shows that global circu...

The reliability of standard meteorological drought indices based on measurements of precipitation is limited by the spatial distribution and quality of currently available rainfall data. Furthermore, they reflect only one component of the surface hydrologic cycle, and they cannot readily capture nonprecipitation-based moisture inputs to the land surface system (e.g., irrigation) that may temper...

The 2011 East Africa drought caused dire situations across several countries and led to a widespread and costly famine in the region. Numerous dynamic and statistical drought prediction models have been used for providing drought information and/or early warning. The concept of Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) has been successfully applied to univariate drought indicators (e.g., the Standar...

Increased frequencies and intensities of extreme weather events have negatively impacted climate-sensitive socio-economic sectors in Kenya larger Equatorial East Africa (EEA). Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) influence intra-seasonal variability over although less attention has been given to its effect on such as droughts floods, which increased frequency intensity. Outgoing Longwave Radiation (...

Drought poses a serious threat to agricultural production and food security in the context of global climate change. Few studies have explored response mechanism lag time drought meteorological from perspective cultivated land types. This paper analyzes spatiotemporal evolution patterns hysteresis relationship droughts middle lower reaches Yangtze River China. Here, Moderate Resolution Imaging ...

The effects of natural variability, especially El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effects, have been the focus of several recent studies on the change of drought patterns with climate change. The interannual relationship between ENSO and the global climate is not stationary and can be modulated by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). However, the global land distribution of the dry-wet chang...

This study examined the climate sensitivity of the growth of riparian Alnus incana ssp. tenuifolia (thinleaf alder), a keystone nitrogen-fixer, on the Tanana River floodplain of interior Alaska. We investigated correlations between alder radial growth and inter-annual variation in monthly meteorology and hydrology, spatial patterns of alder climate sensitivity in relationship to depth of subsur...

This study explores whether it is possible to reconstruct the frequency of extreme precipitation occurrence across the contiguous United States (CONUS) using the Living Blended Drought Atlas (LBDA), a 500 year paleoclimate reconstruction of the summer (June–August) Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). We first identify regions of the country where the LBDA may reflect the occurrence of extreme...

Tree-ring-based reconstructions of the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) indicate that, during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the central plains of North America experienced recurrent periods of drought spanning decades or longer. These megadroughts had exceptional persistence compared to more recent events, but the causes remain uncertain. The authors conducted a suite of general circu...

A practical approach was developed in the study for drought monitoring in Guangdong province of China on the basis of vegetation supply water index (VSWI) and precipitation distance index (PDI). A comprehensive index for assessment of agro-drought severity (SADI) was then established from the normalized VSWI and PDI. Using MODIS satellite images and precipitation data from ground-observed meteo...