Droughts are increasing worldwide. They occur more often, are more intense and cover larger areas than they used to 100 years ago. This is not only due to declines in precipitation. Higher air temperatures because of global warming have increased evaporation from the soil and transpiration by plants. The atmosphere is getting thirstier.

Acceleration since 1980

Scientists analysed global datasets of droughts spanning more than a century, from 1901 to 2022. They found an increasing trend in the atmosphere’s thirst – or ‘atmospheric evaporative demand’ in scientific terms – at the global scale that has led to a 40% higher drought severity worldwide in 2022 compared with one century ago. Not only have dry regions become drier, wet areas are also experiencing drying trends. These changes started around 1980 and accelerated in recent years.

30% of global land affected

In recent years – from 2018 to 2022 – the areas in drought were 74% larger on average compared with the period 1981–2017. More than half of this increase was due to the increase of the atmospheric evaporative demand. The year 2022 was record-breaking, with 30% of the global land area affected by moderate and extreme droughts, with the atmosphere’s increasing thirst a key driving force.

Drought in 82% of Europe

In Europe, 82% of the land area experienced drought in 2022. That year, annual precipitation across Europe dropped by up to 35% below the 1981–2022 average, and the atmospheric evaporative demand increased by up to 40%. The drought affected most of Europe, except for large parts of Scandinavia.

The observed trends are likely to continue in the future. As warming continues, atmospheric thirst will grow, as will droughts.

Source: Gebrechorkos, S.H. et al., 2025. Warming accelerates global drought severity. Nature.