Division and evolution of drought and flood phases during the latest 200 years in eastern China

Based on the past 200-year graded data of dryness/wetness in eastern China (24 stations), five phases to show the floods and droughts have been objectively divided by using the approach of cluster analysis of a sequential sample. The characteristics of flood/drought evolution have been described and explained. It is concluded that the floods or droughts occurred more often for the past two centuries, and the normal phase was seldom seen in eastern China. The transitions between floods and droughts are frequently of jumping feature. The extent and the frequency of serious drought or heavy flood in eastern China tended to expand and increase significantly in the last 50 years. Finally, by using the Walsh power spectrum, the periodicity of dryness/wetness graded series has been analysed. It is found that there exist the 2－9 year high-frequency fluctuations in eastern China.     

Frequency and duration of historical droughts from the 16th to the 19th centuries in the Mexican Maya lands, Yucatan Peninsula

Using unprecedented catalogues of past severe drought data for the Yucatan Peninsula between 1502 and 1900 coming from historical written documentation, we identified five conspicuous time lapses with no droughts between 1577–1647, 1662–1724, 1728–1764, 1774–1799 and 1855–1880, as well as time epochs with most frequent droughts between 1800 and 1850. Moreover, the most prominent periodicity of the historical drought time series was that of ∼40 years. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index for the Yucatan Peninsula for the period 1921–1987 we found prominent negative phases between ∼1942–1946 and 1949–1952, 1923–1924, 1928–1929, 1935–1936, 1962–1963, 1971–1972 and 1986–1987. Two prominent periodicities clearly appear at ∼5 and 10 years. Most modern and historical severe droughts lasted 1 year, and share a quasi-decadal frequency. Also, in the first 66 years of the twentieth century the frequency of occurrence of severe drought has been lower compared with the nineteenth century. Some of the major effects and impacts of the most severe droughts in the Yucatan region are examined. We also studied the relation between historical and modern droughts and several large scale climate phenomena represented by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Our results indicate that historical droughts and the cold phase of the AMO coincide, while the influence of the SOI is less clear. The strongest coherence between historical droughts and AMO occurred at periodicities of ∼40 years. For modern droughts the coherence of a drought indicator (the Palmer Drought Severity Index) is similar with AMO and SOI, although it seems more sustained with the AMO. They are strongest at ∼10 years and very clearly with the AMO cold phase. Concerning the solar activity proxies and historical droughts, the coherence with a record of beryllium isotope Be¹⁰, which is a good proxy of cosmic rays, is higher than with Total Solar Irradiance. We notice that the strongest coherence between historical droughts and Be¹⁰ occurs at periods ∼60–64 years. When studying modern droughts and solar activity, frequencies of ∼8 years appear, and the coherences are similar for both sunspots and cosmic rays. Comparing natural terrestrial and solar phenomena, we found that the most sustained and strongest modulation of historical drought occurrence is at ∼60–64 years and is between the historical drought series and the solar proxy Be¹⁰. For modern droughts we notice that the coherence is similar among AMO, SOI and the solar indices. We can conclude that the sea surface temperatures (AMO) and solar activity leave their signal in terms of severe droughts in the Maya lands, however in the long term, the influence of the SOI on this type of phenomenon is less clear.     

基于TVDI的西藏地区旱情遥感监测

西藏大部分地区属干旱或重干旱区,干旱发生较为频繁,是影响农牧业生产最严重的灾害之一。文章利用拉萨接收站的中分辨率成像光谱仪(MODIS)资料提取的归一化植被指数(NDVI)和地表温度(ST),构建ST-IND-VI特征空间,依据该特征空间设计的温度植被旱情指数作为旱情指标,找出适合该地区的旱情判别模式,以2005～2008年6～7月同时段西藏地区卫星资料、气象旱情监测结果以及土壤相对湿度观测数据为例,进行旱情对比分析。结果表明,利用温度植被旱情指数(TVDI)法对西藏地区进行夏季干旱动态监测是可行的。     

准全球陆表干旱严重程度的多传感器遥感监测方法研究

在全球气候变暖的背景下,持续的干旱事件将对生态系统和人类社会产生不利影响。尽管存在多源卫星遥感资料及多种干旱指数,然而区域和全球尺度干旱事件的监测仍具有挑战。采用TRMM（Tropical RainfallMeasuring Mission）数据量化降水异常、MODIS（Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer）归一化植被指数（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI）和陆表温度（Land Surface Temperature,LST）数据表征植被生长异常,构建了一种兼顾降水异常和植被生长状况异常的多传感器陆表干旱严重程度指数（Multi-sensorsDrought Severity Index,MDSI）。结果表明:MDSI 能够准确检测准全球范围（50°S～50°N,0°～180°～0°）的气象干旱事件,如亚马逊流域2005 和2010 年干旱、中国川渝地区2006 年干旱、中国云南2010 年干旱、非洲东部2011 年干旱、2012 年美国中部干旱等;MDSI 与PDSI（Palmer Drought Severity Index）呈现出大致相同的干湿空间格局,并且MDSI 有助于湿润地区干旱程度的检测。     

Leading Pattern of Spring Drought Variability over East Asia and Associated Drivers

Drought events have become more frequent and intense over East Asia in recent decades, leading to hugesocioeconomic impacts. Although the droughts have been studied extensively by cases or for individual regions, theirleading variability and associated causes remain unclear. Based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI) and ERA5 reanalysis product from 1979 to 2020, this study evealuates the severity of spring droughts in East Asiaand investigates their variations and associated drivers. The results indicate that North China and Mongolia have ex perienced remarkable trends toward dryness during spring in recent decades, while southwestern China has witnessed anopposite trend toward wetness. The first Empirical Orthogonal Function mode of SPEI variability reveals a similarseesawing pattern, with more severe dryness in northwestern China, Mongolia, North China, South Korea, and Japan butincreased wetness in Southwestern China and southeast Asia. Further investigation reveals that the anomalously dry (wet)surface in North (Southwestern) China is significantly associated with anomalously high (low) temperature, less (more)precipitation, and reduced (increased) soil moisture during the previous winter and early spring, regulated by an anomalousanticyclone (cyclone) and thus reduced (increased) water vapor convergence. The spring dry-wet pattern in East Asia isalso linked to cold sea surface temperature anomalies in the central-eastern Pacific. The findings of this study haveimportant implications for improving the prediction of spring drought events in East Asia.     

长江流域及其周围地区夏季持续旱涝的预报问题

长江流域及其南北大范围地区夏季持续性旱涝的形成，常常和其四周地区环流?异常有关。这种异常包括冷暧空气的异常，海气和地气相互作用的异常及水汽输送等方面的异常。因此，做该地区夏季持续性旱涝预报时，不能只局限在考虑某个因素的作用上，而是应该综合考虑这些因素的相互作用和共同影响。预报时，首先进行“环流判别”:即考虑冬春欧洲乌拉尔地区环流特征、澳大利亚地区地面气压特征、孟加拉湾-中国南海水汽输送特征，赤道中太平洋海温特?征及青藏高原感热输送特征，判定当年夏季是属于多雨还是少雨的年份。然后，进行“切变定位”:根据大气环流具有隔季相关的特点，应用冬季８５０ hPa切变线的位置，把雨区大致位置确定下来。     

Future impacts of global warming and reforestation on drought patterns over West Africa

This study investigates how a large-scale reforestation in Savanna (8–12°N, 20°W–20°E) could affect drought patterns over West Africa in the future (2031–2060) under the RCP4.5 scenario. Simulations from two regional climate models (RegCM4 and WRF) were analyzed for the study. The study first evaluated the performance of both RCMs in simulating the present-day climate and then applied the models to investigate the future impacts of global warming and reforestation on the drought patterns. The simulated and observed droughts were characterized with the Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and the drought patterns were classified using a Self-organizing Map (SOM) technique. The models capture essential features in the seasonal rainfall and temperature fields (including the Saharan Heat Low), but struggle to reproduce the onset and retreat of the West African Monsoon as observed. Both RCMs project a warmer climate (about 1–2 °C) over West Africa in the future. They do not reach a consensus on future change in rainfall, but they agree on a future increase in frequency of severe droughts (by about 2 to 9 events per decade) over the region. They show that reforestation over the Savanna could reduce the future warming by 0.1 to 0.8 °C and increase the precipitation by 0.8 to 1.2 mm per day. However, the impact of reforestation on the frequency of severe droughts is twofold. While reforestation decreases the droughts frequency (by about 1–2 events per decade) over the Savanna and Guinea coast, it increases droughts frequency (by 1 event per decade) over the Sahel, especially in July to September. The results of this study have application in using reforestation to mitigate impacts of climate change in West Africa.     

On the potential application of land surface models for drought monitoring in China

The potential of using land surface models (LSMs) to monitor near-real-time drought has not been fully assessed in China yet. In this study, we analyze the performance of such a system with a land surface model (LSM) named the Australian Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange model (CABLE). The meteorological forcing datasets based on reanalysis products and corrected by observational data have been extended to near-real time for semi-operational trial. CABLE-simulated soil moisture (SM) anomalies are used to characterize drought spatial and temporal evolutions. One outstanding feature in our analysis is that with the same meteorological data, we have calculated a range of drought indices including Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). We have assessed the similarity among these indices against observed SM over a number of regions in China. While precipitation is the dominant factor in the drought development, relationships between precipitation, evaporation, and soil moisture anomalies vary significantly under different climate regimes, resulting in different characteristics of droughts in China. The LSM-based trial system is further evaluated for the 1997/1998 drought in northern China and 2009/2010 drought in southwestern China. The system can capture the severities and temporal and spatial evolutions of these drought events well. The advantage of using a LSM-based drought monitoring system is further demonstrated by its potential to monitor other consequences of drought impacts in a more physically consistent manner.     

Agricultural drought in a future climate: results from 15 global climate models participating in the IPCC 4th assessment

This study examines the impact of greenhouse gas warming on soil moisture based on predictions of 15 global climate models by comparing the after-stabilization climate in the SRESA1b experiment with the pre-industrial control climate. The models are consistent in predicting summer dryness and winter wetness in only part of the northern middle and high latitudes. Slightly over half of the models predict year-round wetness in central Eurasia and/or year-round dryness in Siberia and mid-latitude Northeast Asia. One explanation is offered that relates such lack of seasonality to the carryover effect of soil moisture storage from season to season. In the tropics and subtropics, a decrease of soil moisture is the dominant response. The models are especially consistent in predicting drier soil over the southwest North America, Central America, the Mediterranean, Australia, and the South Africa in all seasons, and over much of the Amazon and West Africa in the June–July–August (JJA) season and the Asian monsoon region in the December–January–February (DJF) season. Since the only major areas of future wetness predicted with a high level of model consistency are part of the northern middle and high latitudes during the non-growing season, it is suggested that greenhouse gas warming will cause a worldwide agricultural drought. Over regions where there is considerable consistency among the analyzed models in predicting the sign of soil moisture changes, there is a wide range of magnitudes of the soil moisture response, indicating a high degree of model dependency in terrestrial hydrological sensitivity. A major part of the inter-model differences in the sensitivity of soil moisture response are attributable to differences in land surface parameterization.     

西藏高原汛期旱涝年水汽输送差异特征

利用西藏高原39个气象站自1961年或建站开始至2010年汛期(5—9月)的逐月降水资料,根据Z指数和区域旱涝指数分析了近50年西藏高原汛期旱涝的变化特征。在此基础上,选取了典型旱、涝年,采用NCEP/NCAR再分析月平均资料,通过合成分析方法分析了旱、涝年的水汽输送特征的差异。结果表明:近50年以来,西藏高原以旱为主,涝灾较少,干湿状况具有明显年代际变化;西藏高原汛期旱涝与水汽输送异常联系紧密,典型旱(涝)年北印度洋、西北太平洋和亚洲中纬度地区的整层水汽通量经向、纬向及整层水汽通量和水汽通量散度均存在显著差异,呈反位相分布。越赤道急流区的差异最为显著,索马里越赤道气流区的水汽输送差异主要表现在经向上,而菲律宾越赤道气流区的水汽输送差异主要表现在纬向上。     

RCP4.5情景下中国未来干湿变化预估

本文采用国际耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(CMIP5)中21个气候模式的试验数据, 利用土壤湿度以及由其他8个地表气象要素计算所得的干旱指数, 预估了RCP4.5(Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5)情景下21世纪中国干湿变化。结果表明:全球气候模式对1986～2005年中国现代干湿分布具备模拟能力, 尽管在西部地区模式与观测间存在一定的差异。在RCP4.5情景下, 21世纪中国区域平均的标准化降水蒸散发指数和土壤湿度均有减小趋势, 与之对应的是短期和长期干旱发生次数增加以及湿润区面积减小。从2016到2100年, 约1.5%～3.5%的陆地面积将从湿润区变成半干旱或半湿润区。空间分布上, 干旱化趋势明显的区域主要位于西北和东南地区, 同时短期和长期干旱发生次数在这两个地区的增加幅度也最大, 未来干旱化的发生时间也较其他地区要早;只在东北和西南地区未来或有变湿倾向, 但幅度较小。在季节尺度上, 北方地区变干主要发生在暖季, 南方则主要以冷季变干为主。造成中国干旱化的原因主要是由降水与蒸散发所表征的地表可用水量减少。     

Reconstructed droughts for the southeastern Tibetan Plateau over the past 568 years and its linkages to the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean climate variability

We present a Palmer Drought Severity Index reconstruction (r = 0.61, P < 0.01) from 1440 to 2007 for the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, based on tree rings of the forest fir (Abies forrestii). Persistent decadal dry intervals were found in the 1440s–1460s, 1560s–1580s, 1700s, 1770s, 1810s, 1860s and 1980s, and the extreme wet epochs were the 1480s–1490s, 1510s–1520s, 1590s, 1610s–1630s, 1720s–1730s, 1800s, 1830s, 1870s, 1930s, 1950s and after the 1990s. Comparisons of our record with those identified in other moisture related reconstructions for nearby regions showed that our reconstructed droughts were relatively consistent with those found in other regions of Indochina, suggesting similar drought regimes. Spectral peaks of 2.3–5.5 years may be indicative of ENSO activity, as also suggested by negative correlations with SSTs in the eastern equatorial and southeastern Pacific Ocean. Significant multidecadal spectral peaks of 29.2–40.9 and 56.8–60.2 years were identified. As indicated by the spatial correlation patterns, the decadal-scale variability may be linked to SST variations in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.     

Identifying future climate change and drought detection using CanESM2 in the upper Siem Reap River,Cambodia

Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change impacts such as floods and droughts. Study of future climate change and drought conditions in the upper Siem Reap River catchment is vital because this river plays a crucial role in maintaining the Angkor Temple Complex and livelihood of the local population since 12th century. The resolution of climate data from Global Circulation Models (GCM) is too coarse to employ effectively at the watershed scale, and therefore downscaling of the dataset is required. Artificial neural network (ANN) and Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) models were applied in this study to downscale precipitation and temperatures from three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios) from Global Climate Model data of the Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) on a daily and monthly basis. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were adopted to develop criteria for dry and wet conditions in the catchment. Trend detection of climate parameters and drought indices were assessed using the Mann-Kendall test. It was observed that the ANN and SDSM models performed well in downscaling monthly precipitation and temperature, as well as daily temperature, but not daily precipitation. Every scenario indicated that there would be significant warming and decreasing precipitation which contribute to mild drought. The results of this study provide valuable information for decision makers since climate change may potentially impact future water supply of the Angkor Temple Complex (a World Heritage Site).     

The superior influence of Darwin Sea level pressure anomalies over ENSO as a simple drought predictor for Southern Africa

Summary The dominant climatic mode responsible for seasonal rainfall variability across central southern Africa has been well-established as ENSO. Hence, the El Ni?o signal of the equatorial Pacific has been used extensively to predict droughts in this sub-region. Although this paper acknowledges that El Ni?o influences rainfall deficits over eastern southern Africa, an earlier signal of extreme positive sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies at Darwin for the averaged March to June period (MAMJ Darwin) has proved to have a superior remote connection to droughts in the sub-region. Simple linear statistical tools including composite techniques and correlation methods have been employed on century long data sets (1901–2000) to identify the emerging paramount connection between MAMJ Darwin SLP anomalies and southern African rainfall. Both MAMJ Darwin SLP anomalies and the Zimbabwe seasonal rainfall time series are significantly correlated (above the 95% significant level) with sea surface temperature anomalies. These represent the Indian Ocean Dipole mode in the tropical Indian Ocean and ENSO in the tropical Pacific for the averaged September to December period. ‘Pure’ MAMJ Darwin (that occur in the absence of El Ni?o in the Pacific) coincide with droughts more significantly (83% hit rate) than ‘pure’ El Ni?o events (not preceded by a high MAMJ Darwin) (38% hit rate). Co-occurrences (MAMJ Darwin preceded by El Ni?o) do not only have the highest hit rate of 93% but subsequent droughts are noticeably more severe. The ‘pure’ El Ni?os however, are not only poorly related to Zimbabwe seasonal rainfall deficits, but are apparently not connected to extreme droughts of the 20^th century. Thus, MAMJ Darwin is a good simple predictor of droughts associated with or without ENSO in the Pacific. The high prediction skill of these results, especially the inherent longer lead-time than ENSO, makes MAMJ Darwin SLP anomalies an ideal additional input candidate for sub-regional drought monitoring and forecasting schemes. In this way, drought early warning and disaster preparedness activities can be enhanced over the sub-region. Authors’ addresses: D. Manatsa, W. Chingombe, H. Matsikwa, Faculty of Science, Bindura University of Science Education, P. Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe; C. H. Matarira, Department of Geography and Environmental Science, National University of Lesotho, Roma 180, Lesotho.     

Tree-ring reconstructed megadroughts over North America since a.d. 1300

Tree-ring reconstructed summer Palmer Drought Severity Indices (PDSI) are used to identify decadal droughts more severe and prolonged than any witnessed during the instrumental period. These “megadroughts” are identified at two spatial scales, the North American continental scale (exclusive of Alaska and boreal Canada) and at the sub-continental scale over western North America. Intense decadal droughts have had significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts, as is illustrated with historical information. Only one prolonged continent-wide megadrought during the past 500 years exceeded the decadal droughts witnessed during the instrumental period, but three megadroughts occurred over the western sector of North America from a.d. 1300 to 1900. The early 20th century pluvial appears to have been unmatched at either the continental or sub-continental scale during the past 500 to 700 years. The decadal droughts of the 20th century, and the reconstructed megadroughts during the six previous centuries, all covered large sectors of western North America and in some cases extended into the eastern United States. All of these persistent decadal droughts included shorter duration cells of regional drought (sub-decadal  ≈  6 years), most of which resemble the regional patterns of drought identified with monthly and annual data during the 20th century. These well-known regional drought patterns are also characterized by unique monthly precipitation climatologies. Intense sub-decadal drought shifted among these drought regions during the modern and reconstructed multi-year droughts, which prolonged large-scale drought and resulted in the regimes of megadrought.     

Future changes in drought characteristics over South Korea using multi regional climate models with the standardized precipitation index

In this study, the projection of future drought conditions is estimated over South Korea based on the latest and most advanced sets of regional climate model simulations under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios, within the context of the national downscaling project of the Republic of Korea. The five Regional Climate Models (RCMs) are used to produce climate-change simulations around the Korean Peninsula and to estimate the uncertainty associated with these simulations. The horizontal resolution of each RCM is 12.5 km and model simulations are available for historical (1981-2010) and future (2021-2100) periods under forcing from the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. To assess the characteristics of drought on multiple time scales in the future, we use Standardized Precipitation Indices for 1-month (SPI- 1), 6-month (SPI-6) and 12-month (SPI-12). The number of drought months in the future is shown to be characterized by strong variability, with both increasing and decreasing trends among the scenarios. In particular, the number of drought months over South Korea is projected to increase (decrease) for the period 2041-2070 in the RCP8.5 (RCP4.5) scenario and increase (decrease) for the period 2071-2100 in the RCP4.5 (RCP8.5) scenario. In addition, the percentage area under any drought condition is overall projected to gradually decrease over South Korea during the entire future period, with the exception of SPI-1 in the RCP4.5 scenario. Particularly, the drought areas for SPI-1 in the RCP4.5 scenario show weakly positive long-term trend. Otherwise, future changes in drought areas for SPI-6 and SPI-12 have a marked downward trend under the two RCP scenarios.     

Comparison of the dryness/wetness index in China with the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas

It is not clear how the frequency and amplitude of droughts have varied over the past 500 years in China, as the instrumental record is too short to identify centennial-scale trends. While the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas (MADA) provides some insights into past drought patterns, its accuracy in eastern China remains uncertain. A comparison of the MADA and Chinese historical documents indicates that the MADA alone cannot effectively represent dryness and wetness in eastern China, so it is not appropriate to use the MADA in this region.     

North Atlantic oscillation control of droughts in north-east Spain: evaluation since 1600 a.d.

This paper analyses the role played by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the creation of drought conditions in a semi-arid region of north-east Spain (the middle Ebro valley), from 1600 to the year 2000. The study used documents from ecclesiastical archives for the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For the twentieth century, instrumental precipitation records were used as well. A December–August drought index from 1600 to 1900 was compiled from the historical documentary sources (rogation ceremonies). The index was validated by means of precipitation records between 1858 and 1900 and independent precipitation data from 1600 reconstructed by means of dendrochronological records. Using instrumental data a drought index was also calculated (Standardized Precipitation Index, SPI) for the 1958–2000 period. We found that the NAO was important in explaining the droughts identified in the study area from documents and instrumental data. Positive values of the winter NAO index are prone to cause droughts in the middle Ebro valley. This finding has been verified since 1600 by means of two independent reconstructions of the winter NAO index. The same behaviour has been observed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by means of instrumental records. The climatic and geographic factors that explain the high influence of North Atlantic Oscillation on droughts in this region are discussed in depth.     

青藏高原热力异常与华北汛期降水关系的研究

利用1980～1994年NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,以及我国336个测站1956～1994年月降水量资料,通过诊断分析和数值实验,研究了夏季高原上热力异常与华北汛期降水的关系.结果表明:华北汛期干旱年,青藏高压及西太平洋副热带高压偏南、偏东,华北汛期降水偏多年则相反;华北汛期旱年时,高原上升、高原东侧邻近地区下沉的垂直环流明显加强,而降水偏多年时,垂直环流减弱,华北地区为上升气流控制;夏季高原为热源和水汽汇区,它们的异常对华北地区降水有很大影响,当热源和水汽汇增强(减弱)时,华北地区降水偏少(偏多).数值试验表明,高原上潜热加热异常引起青藏高压、西太平洋副热带高压、亚洲季风以及欧亚中高纬地区环流的变化,进而影响到华北地区的降水.     

Severity, duration and frequency of drought in SE England from 1697 to 2011

Severe droughts have affected much of Europe over the last 40 years. A limitation to current understanding of droughts is based around drought characteristics (e.g. frequency, severity and duration) as there are limited long series (>100 years) with well documented severe droughts. This is further complicated with future climate projections, and the potential implications that these will have on drought characteristics. This paper presents reconstructed drought series from 1697, 1726 and 1767 to 2011 for three sites in southeast England. Precipitation and temperature series are reconstructed to generate long drought series using the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index, enabling determination of drought characteristics. The reconstructions identify multiple drought-rich periods, 1730–1760 and 1890-present, with an increasing tendency towards more severe droughts during the latter period. Prolonged rainfall deficiencies are found to be the primary cause of severe droughts, with rising temperatures increasing soil moisture deficit, therefore intensifying drought conditions. Cycles at the 6–10 year period identify a sub-decadal to decadal signal during drought-rich periods. Analysis of the spatial variability of droughts finds that whilst severe events are predominantly regionally coherent, there are notable variations in severity and duration between sites, which are attributed to localised rainfall variability. This study extends the temporal range of previous drought studies and places recent drought events in a longer context improving upon existing ‘benchmark’ drought analyses in southeast England; with far-reaching implications for local, national and continental scale reduction of drought vulnerability and risk.