A recent report on climate change has revealed that the area of the Earth's surface impacted by severe drought has tripled since the 1980s.

According to research by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, nearly half—48%—of the Earth's land experienced at least one month of extreme drought last year. This figure is a stark increase from an average of 15% back in the 1980s.

In 2023, three months or more of extreme drought affected 30% of the planet, a significant rise from 5% in the 1980s. These findings highlight how rapidly drought conditions are worsening globally.

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Extreme drought is categorized by a combination of six months of either significantly below-normal rainfall or exceptionally high evaporation from soil and vegetation—or a combination of both factors.

Such droughts pose immediate threats to essential services like water supply, sanitation, and food security, while also impacting energy resources, transportation infrastructure, and economies globally.

Pinpointing the causes of individual droughts can be complicated, given the different factors that affect water availability, ranging from natural weather cycles to human land use.

Nevertheless, climate change is playing a role by altering global weather patterns, making certain regions more prone to sustained dry conditions.

The regions most affected by worsening drought include South America, the Middle East, and the Horn of Africa.

In the Amazon, for instance, severe droughts are increasingly disrupting local climate, as dying trees hinder the formation of rainclouds. This disrupts the ecosystem's delicate water cycle, leading to even more drought in a worsening feedback loop.

Ironically, even as large areas of land dry out, the world has also seen a rise in extreme rainfall.

Over the last decade, 61% of the world's regions experienced increased heavy rain events compared to historical levels from 1961-1990.

The interplay between drought, flooding, and climate change is complex. Hotter conditions speed up water evaporation from soil, making dry periods even harder to bear.

Warming also impacts rainfall distribution. Warmer oceans contribute more water vapor to the atmosphere, which can lead to more intense storms—and heavier rain—when that vapor comes down over land.

The Lancet Countdown report also revealed that the health consequences of climate change have reached unprecedented levels.

In just the past year, an additional 151 million people faced food insecurity driven by drought, compared to the 1990s. Furthermore, heat-related deaths among those over 65 saw a 167% spike from 1990s levels.

Adding to the crisis, warming temperatures have extended the reach of mosquito-borne diseases. Dengue fever cases hit an all-time high, while diseases like dengue, malaria, and West Nile virus spread to regions they had never previously reached.

Dust storms exacerbated by drought led to even more air pollution problems, putting millions at risk.

“The climate is changing rapidly,” remarks Marina Romanello, the executive director of the Lancet Countdown.

“We are seeing new temperatures and conditions that our systems simply weren't designed to handle."

For BBC World’s *Life at 50 Degrees* series, reporters saw firsthand how extreme heat, drought, and floods have severely limited communities’ access to water.

Since 2020, northeastern Syria and parts of Iraq have suffered from an extreme agricultural drought.

In the city of Hasakah, a natural water supply that used to flow into the Khabor River has vanished, leaving over a million people with insufficient access to clean water.

“Twenty years ago, water would still flow into the Khabor,” says Osman Gaddo, Head of Water Testing, Hasakah City Water Board. “Now, people are without safe drinking water.”

Residents often dig their own makeshift wells, although the water is often contaminated, leading to widespread illness. Even the wells supplying the city’s water 25 km away are drying up, and fuel shortages make it harder to extract what's left.

The lack of water leads to unwashed clothes and poor hygiene, causing rampant issues like skin diseases and diarrhoea.

“People are desperate enough to fight over water,” one local told the BBC. “Many are going thirsty daily."

South Sudan faces similar challenges—77% of the country experienced at least one month of drought last year, while half of the country endured an extreme drought for six months or more. Simultaneously, floods have displaced over 700,000 individuals.

“Life is getting harder,” says Nyakuma, a village elder. “The water is making us ill, and the food we have isn't healthy.”

Nyakuma herself experienced two bouts of malaria in just a few months. Her family’s entire cattle herd was lost to last year’s floods, forcing them to survive on a mix of government aid and whatever they can forage.

“Eating this feels like eating mud,” remarks her husband Sunday, as he scavenges for waterlily roots in the floodwaters.

The drought-flood cycle is brutal: rivers dry up, soil becomes parched and scorched, and when heavy rains do arrive, they only cause flash floods as the water fails to penetrate the hardened ground.

“Plants can somewhat cope with drought,” Romanello adds, “but their physiology is no match for flooding. It's disastrous for food security and agriculture."

If we do not cut greenhouse gas emissions and cap global temperature rises, we will face an even grimmer future filled with intensifying droughts and more destructive downpours. Already, 2023 was the hottest year on record.

“We’re just at the edge of our ability to adapt,” warns Romanello. “Soon, we’ll exceed what we’re capable of coping with, and we’ll start seeing more unavoidable disaster scenarios.”

“The higher the global temperature climbs, the more severe the consequences,” she concludes.

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