Drought vulnerability, risk, and impact assessments: bridging the science-policy gap
Drought vulnerability, risk, and impact assessments: bridging the science-policy gap
Editor(s): Michael Hagenlocher, Veit Blauhut, Gustavo Naumann, Stefan Siebert, Lucia De Stefano, Ana Iglesias, and Joaquim G. Pinto
Droughts are among the most damaging and least understood of all so-called natural hazards. Droughts often lead to long-lasting and cascading impacts on different sectors across multiple spatial scales. Because the impacts of drought are less direct and immediately visible than the impacts of events such as floods or storms, drought has, for a long time, received less attention in disaster research and risk reduction. The likelihood of such impacts, understood as drought risk, is caused by the combination of drought hazard, exposure, and a broad range of underlying vulnerability factors. To support the identification and planning of drought risk reduction, risk transfer, and adaptation options, information on the drivers, patterns, and dynamics of current and future drought risk is needed in all dimensions of drought hazard, exposure, and system vulnerability. We aim at soliciting contributions (commentaries, review articles, original research articles) for a special issue on drought vulnerability, risk, and impact assessments that aim to inform drought risk management, risk transfer, and adaptation policy and action in the context of global environmental change and societal transformation.

Papers may consider the following topics:

  • drought vulnerability, risk, or impact assessments (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches) for different sectors (e.g. agriculture, energy production, transportation, tourism) and systems (e.g. ecosystems), at different spatial (local to global) and/or temporal scales (past trends, current patterns, future scenarios);
  • assessment and communication of uncertainties in drought risk assessments (and risk components);
  • validation strategies of the outcomes of drought risk assessments (e.g. through loss and damage information or expert-based);
  • validation of the utility of drought vulnerability, risk, and impact assessments for climate action, resilience-building, and (inter)national climate policy;
  • emergent risks associated with droughts (including in the focus of compound hazards), the multiple interconnections that influence systemic drought risks, and the cascading effects of droughts;
  • studies that aim to bridge the ``science to policy-action'' gap by providing science-based solutions to the international community, nations, and communities on how to build resilience.
A series of contributions will be drawn from the EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online session "Drought risk, vulnerability and impact assessment: achievements and future directions'' held on 8 May 2020; however, unsolicited contributions are also highly encouraged. The guest editors aim for diversity and balance in contributions and authors. We especially encourage researchers from developing countries, women, and underrepresented minorities to contribute to this special issue.

Download citations of all papers

09 Feb 2023
Evolution of multivariate drought hazard, vulnerability and risk in India under climate change
Venkataswamy Sahana and Arpita Mondal
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 623–641, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-623-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-623-2023, 2023
Short summary
21 Jul 2022
Predicting drought and subsidence risks in France
Arthur Charpentier, Molly James, and Hani Ali
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2401–2418, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2401-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2401-2022, 2022
Short summary
29 Jun 2022
Lessons from the 2018–2019 European droughts: a collective need for unifying drought risk management
Veit Blauhut, Michael Stoelzle, Lauri Ahopelto, Manuela I. Brunner, Claudia Teutschbein, Doris E. Wendt, Vytautas Akstinas, Sigrid J. Bakke, Lucy J. Barker, Lenka Bartošová, Agrita Briede, Carmelo Cammalleri, Ksenija Cindrić Kalin, Lucia De Stefano, Miriam Fendeková, David C. Finger, Marijke Huysmans, Mirjana Ivanov, Jaak Jaagus, Jiří Jakubínský, Svitlana Krakovska, Gregor Laaha, Monika Lakatos, Kiril Manevski, Mathias Neumann Andersen, Nina Nikolova, Marzena Osuch, Pieter van Oel, Kalina Radeva, Renata J. Romanowicz, Elena Toth, Mirek Trnka, Marko Urošev, Julia Urquijo Reguera, Eric Sauquet, Aleksandra Stevkov, Lena M. Tallaksen, Iryna Trofimova, Anne F. Van Loon, Michelle T. H. van Vliet, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Niko Wanders, Micha Werner, Patrick Willems, and Nenad Živković
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2201–2217, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2201-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2201-2022, 2022
Short summary
31 May 2022
Integrated drought risk assessment to support adaptive policymaking in the Netherlands
Marjolein J. P. Mens, Gigi van Rhee, Femke Schasfoort, and Neeltje Kielen
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1763–1776, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1763-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1763-2022, 2022
Short summary
07 Apr 2022
Education, financial aid, and awareness can reduce smallholder farmers' vulnerability to drought under climate change
Marthe L. K. Wens, Anne F. van Loon, Ted I. E. Veldkamp, and Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1201–1232, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1201-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1201-2022, 2022
Short summary
16 Mar 2022
Monitoring the daily evolution and extent of snow drought
Benjamin J. Hatchett, Alan M. Rhoades, and Daniel J. McEvoy
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 869–890, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-869-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-869-2022, 2022
Short summary
25 Feb 2022
An approach to identify the best climate models for the assessment of climate change impacts on meteorological and hydrological droughts
Antonio-Juan Collados-Lara, Juan-de-Dios Gómez-Gómez, David Pulido-Velazquez, and Eulogio Pardo-Igúzquiza
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 599–616, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-599-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-599-2022, 2022
Short summary
07 Feb 2022
A geography of drought indices: mismatch between indicators of drought and its impacts on water and food securities
Sarra Kchouk, Lieke A. Melsen, David W. Walker, and Pieter R. van Oel
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 323–344, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-323-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-323-2022, 2022
Short summary
19 Nov 2021
Stochastic system dynamics modelling for climate change water scarcity assessment of a reservoir in the Italian Alps
Stefano Terzi, Janez Sušnik, Stefan Schneiderbauer, Silvia Torresan, and Andrea Critto
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3519–3537, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3519-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3519-2021, 2021
Short summary
18 Oct 2021
Evaluating integrated water management strategies to inform hydrological drought mitigation
Doris E. Wendt, John P. Bloomfield, Anne F. Van Loon, Margaret Garcia, Benedikt Heudorfer, Joshua Larsen, and David M. Hannah
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3113–3139, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3113-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-3113-2021, 2021
Short summary
23 Aug 2021
An inventory of Alpine drought impact reports to explore past droughts in a mountain region
Ruth Stephan, Mathilde Erfurt, Stefano Terzi, Maja Žun, Boštjan Kristan, Klaus Haslinger, and Kerstin Stahl
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 2485–2501, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2485-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-2485-2021, 2021
Short summary
08 Jan 2021
Drought propagation and its impact on groundwater hydrology of wetlands: a case study on the Doode Bemde nature reserve (Belgium)
Buruk Kitachew Wossenyeleh, Kaleb Asnake Worku, Boud Verbeiren, and Marijke Huysmans
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 39–51, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-39-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-39-2021, 2021
Short summary
CC BY 4.0