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World
Drought
Atlas

A Collaboration between the European Commission & UNCCD

A Collaboration between
the European Commission & UNCCD

The World Drought Atlas is a guide to manage & adapt to drought and support policy actions.

Download guide for detailed insights & resources ⤓

table of contentS

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PART 1:

The complexity of drought and drought risks

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PART 2:

Impacted systems at global level

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PART 3:

Regional perspectives

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PART 4:

Managing and adapting to drought risks

key messages

Droughts emerge from a combination of natural climate variability, anthropogenic climate change, and human mismanagement of water and land resources.
Droughts affect human populations, multiple sector, and complexly and over different spatial and temporal scales.
Drought is a daunting challenge, as its effects on people’s lives and livelihoods and the ecosystems on which they depend are devastating.
Climate models project more frequent and severe droughts in the future, Investment is needed to fill the knowledge gaps and reduce uncertainties in droughts forecasting and risk assessment.
The complexity of drought risk demands cross-sectoral policies accounting for regional diversity, leveraging local knowledge and promoting communities' engagement.
To successfully manage drought risk, communities, regions and countries must adopt proactive and prospective approaches to drought risk management and adaptation.

Drought Impacts:
Economies, Ecosystems & Society

Major drought events, 2022 – 2024

Examples of major drought events that occurred between 2022-24, with examples of impacted systems. Red areas represent the approximate spatial extent of drought impacts. The boundaries of these shaded areas are blurred to indicate that droughts do not have finite geographic boundaries and there can be considerable uncertainty in determining the extent of impacts

Atlas Explained

World
Drought
Atlas

Download Guide ↓