megadroughts
Decades-long water scarcity
Megadroughts are prolonged periods of severe drought lasting decades or even centuries, far exceeding typical dry spells in both duration and intensity.
Climate scientists use the term particularly when discussing historical dry periods reconstructed from tree rings and other natural records, as well as potential future droughts amplified by climate change.
Megadroughts devastated ancient civilizations in the American Southwest.
The prefix mega- emphasizes the extraordinary scale compared to ordinary droughts.
When fields yield nothing
- famineSevere food shortage
- dust bowlErosion-ravaged drought zone
- wildfiresUncontrolled outdoor blazes
- food insecurityUncertain access to adequate meals
displacement · economic disruption · water rationing · societal collapse · Ancestral Puebloans · Angkor Wat · migration
Land becoming barren, infertile
- global warmingRising planetary temperatures
- climate crisisDestabilizing atmospheric heating
- extreme weatherUnusual, dangerous atmospheric events
- heatwavesExtended periods of excessive warmth
temperature rise · paleoclimate · climate modeling · tree rings · atmospheric rivers · La Niña
Water-bearing rock formations
- groundwaterWater in underground rock
- reservoirsBodies storing water supply
- overdraftingWithdrawing beyond available supply
- water tableTop of groundwater zone
evaporation · snowpack · streamflow · runoff · lake levels · soil moisture · water stress · Colorado River
crop failure
When fields yield nothing
food insecurity · displacement · economic disruption · water rationing · societal collapse · Ancestral Puebloans · Angkor Wat · migration
desertification
Land becoming barren, infertile
- global warmingRising planetary temperatures
- climate crisisDestabilizing atmospheric heating
- extreme weatherUnusual, dangerous atmospheric events
heatwaves · temperature rise · paleoclimate · climate modeling · tree rings · atmospheric rivers · La Niña
aquifers
Water-bearing rock formations
- groundwaterWater in underground rock
- reservoirsBodies storing water supply
- overdraftingWithdrawing beyond available supply
water table · evaporation · snowpack · streamflow · runoff · lake levels · soil moisture · water stress · Colorado River · Lake Mead
prolonged
Made to last longer
- persistentContinuing despite difficulty
- sustainedKept up continuously
- chronicPersisting over time
extended · unrelenting · enduring · long-term · recurring · cyclical · episodic · severity · intensity
megadroughtsmegafloods
Enormous ancient inundation events
inundations · superfloods · deluges · catastrophic flooding · monsoons