The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification have released the World Drought Atlas, which reveals the current conditions and the risks
This data provides policymakers with information to encourage them to take action and steps to strengthen drought resilience as climate change and unsustainable water and land management continue to increase drought risks.
What is the World Drought Atlas?
The World Drought Atlas, launched by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at COP16 in Riyadh, highlights the growing global threat of drought.
The Atlas looks to provide insights into the direct ways drought impacts various systems. The Atlas isn’t meant to be comprehensive, but instead, it aims to give policymakers insights into drought management and adaptation plans and to seek out further information where needed.
It also provides case studies of current cases of recent events to show examples of risk management and adaptation. The Atlas hopes to act as a call to action to inspire policymakers to shift towards a more proactive and prospective drought risk management.
Drought: A global threat
Drought is a global threat. Without action and international cooperation, its effects will continue to ripple across economies, financial systems, populations and ecosystems, leaving long-term effects.
The Atlas uses past, present, and future data to show drought’s continuous effects on natural and human systems. It is a visual resource that hopes to convey all dimensions of drought intuitively and directly.
Who is most affected by droughts?
Drought affects rural areas as well as urban regions, where water shortages due to a decreased hydropower supply can lead to poorer water quality, health risks, and power outages.
Droughts impact people and economies in both direct and indirect ways. Immediately, droughts cause an instant burden for people who rely on local water sources for drinking, hydropower, and river transport.
Droughts can also indirectly affect communities and economies. They could reduce ecosystem services or raise the prices and volatility of agricultural commodities globally.
Vulnerable communities, especially in low-income regions, suffer the most, facing heightened food insecurity, gender inequalities, and loss of livelihoods. For example, smallholder farmers, who depend on rain-fed agriculture, are highly exposed to droughts, struggling with limited access to water and drought-resistant seeds. Many urban areas, home to nearly 80% of the world’s population, are vulnerable to drought’s impacts, leading to health crises and exacerbating environmental degradation.
The cost of the water crisis
The Atlas also shows the disproportionate costs of the water crisis. Unsustainable water use, pollution, and poor governance have pushed over 1.5 billion people beyond safe water usage limits.
Wealthier consumers drive demand for water-intensive goods, worsening water stress in drought-prone regions. Agriculture, which uses 70% of global freshwater, is particularly impacted by water scarcity, reducing crop yields and food shortages.
Mitigating future water security
The Atlas warns of more frequent and severe droughts, especially if global warming continues unchecked. As crops fail and ecosystems degrade, droughts also affect international trade, mainly through “virtual water trade,” where water used in producing goods is traded internationally. This amplifies the impact of droughts far beyond the affected regions.
The key to managing this crisis is building resilience through transformative actions: improving drought forecasting, strengthening early warning systems, and fostering international cooperation.
Solutions must be tailored to local conditions and needs while integrating broader global strategies. By addressing the root causes of drought, such as unsustainable water use and climate change, policymakers can create more effective, long-term solutions to mitigate drought risks and ensure water security for all.
