Drought risk in Moldova under global warming and possible crop adaptation strategies.

This study analyzes the relationship between drought processes and crop yields in Moldova, together with the effects of possible future climate change on crops. The severity of drought is analyzed over time in Moldova using the Standard Precipitation Index, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and their relationship with crop yields. In addition, rainfall variability and its relationship with crop yields are examined using spectral analysis and squared wavelet coherence.

Near-real time flash drought monitoring system and dataset for Spain.

Flash droughts are characterized by rapid development and intensification, which makes early warning and monitoring difficult. Flash drought monitor (FDM) is a near-real time monitoring system for Spain (https://flash-drought.csic.

Cross-sectoral impacts of the 2018-2019 Central European drought and climate resilience in the German part of the Elbe River basin.

Unlabelled: The 2018-2019 Central European drought was probably the most extreme in Germany since the early sixteenth century. We assess the multiple consequences of the drought for natural systems, the economy and human health in the German part of the Elbe River basin, an area of 97,175 km including the cities of Berlin and Hamburg and contributing about 18% to the German GDP. We employ meteorological, hydrological and socio-economic data to build a comprehensive picture of the drought severity, its multiple effects and cross-sectoral consequences in the basin.

The global historical climate database HCLIM.

There is a growing need for past weather and climate data to support science and decision-making. This paper describes the compilation and construction of a global multivariable (air temperature, pressure, precipitation sum, number of precipitation days) monthly instrumental climate database that encompasses a substantial body of the known early instrumental time series. The dataset contains series compiled from existing databases that start before 1890 (though continuing to the present) as well as a large amount of newly rescued data.

Global drought trends and future projections.

Drought is one of the most difficult natural hazards to quantify and is divided into categories (meteorological, agricultural, ecological and hydrological), which makes assessing recent changes and future scenarios extremely difficult. This opinion piece includes a review of the recent scientific literature on the topic and analyses trends in meteorological droughts by using long-term precipitation records and different drought metrics to evaluate the role of global warming processes in trends of agricultural, hydrological and ecological drought severity over the last four decades, during which a sharp increase in atmospheric evaporative demand (AED) has been recorded. Meteorological droughts do not show any substantial changes at the global scale in at least the last 120 years, but an increase in the severity of agricultural and ecological droughts seems to emerge as a consequence of the increase in the severity of AED.

Dating historical droughts from religious ceremonies, the international pro pluvia rogation database.

Climate proxy data are required for improved understanding of climate variability and change in the pre-instrumental period. We present the first international initiative to compile and share information on pro pluvia rogation ceremonies, which is a well-studied proxy of agricultural drought. Currently, the database has more than 3500 dates of celebration of rogation ceremonies, providing information for 153 locations across 11 countries spanning the period from 1333 to 1949.

The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface urban heat island changes and air-quality improvements across 21 major cities in the Middle East.

This study investigates changes in air quality conditions during the restricted COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020 across 21 metropolitan areas in the Middle East and how these relate to surface urban heat island (SUHI) characteristics. Based on satellite observations of atmospheric gases from Sentinel-5, results indicate significant reductions in the levels of atmospheric pollutants, particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), and carbon monoxide (CO). Air quality improved significantly during the middle phases of the lockdown (April and May), especially in small metropolitan cities like Amman, Beirut, and Jeddah, while it was less significant in "mega" cities like Cairo, Tehran, and Istanbul.

The potential of using climate indices as powerful tools to explain mortality anomalies: An application to mainland Spain.

Changes in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events represent one of the key indicators of climate change and variability. These events can have an important impact on mortality rates, especially in the ageing population. This study assessed the spatial and seasonal distributions of mortality rates in mainland Spain and their association with climatic conditions over the period 1979-2016.

The complex multi-sectoral impacts of drought: Evidence from a mountainous basin in the Central Spanish Pyrenees.

We analyzed the impacts of drought severity on a variety of sectors in a topographically complex basin (the upper Aragón basin 2181 km) in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Using diverse data sources including meteorological and hydrological observations, remote sensing and tree rings, we analyze the possible hydrological implications of drought occurrence and severity on water availability in various sectors, including downstream impacts on irrigation water supply for crop production. Results suggest varying responses in forest activity, secondary growth, plant phenology, and crop yield to drought impacts.

Characteristics and trends of flash droughts in Spain, 1961-2018.

Flash droughts are characterized by rapid onset and intensification, as well as major environmental and agricultural impacts. In this study, we developed an objective method for identifying flash droughts using the standardized evaporation precipitation index (SPEI) based on a short time scale (1-month) and high-frequency data (weekly). The identification of flash droughts was focused on the development phase, anomalous decreases in index values in a short time period (4 weeks), and the magnitude of the events.

A multidecadal assessment of climate indices over Europe.

Monitoring and management of several environmental and socioeconomic sectors require climate data that can be summarized using a set of standard and meaningful climate metrics. This study describes a newly developed gridded dataset for the whole of Europe, which employed a set of 125 climate indices spanning different periods based on data availability, but mainly 1950-2017 and 1979-2017. This dataset comprehensively summarizes climate variability in Europe for a wide range of climate variables and conditions, including air temperature, precipitation, biometeorology, aridity, continentality, drought, amongst others.

Effects of active and passive land use management after cropland abandonment on water and vegetation dynamics in the Central Spanish Pyrenees.

The Mediterranean mountains have been subject to significant land abandonment process during the second half of the 20th century. The subsequent natural revegetation following abandonment in rural areas has been widely documented to have substantial implications on the hydrological cycle and the vegetation. The Spanish Pyrenees are one of the most affected areas by these land transformations which could threaten their importance for water supply and agricultural activities in the downstream lowland areas.

Early meteorological records from Latin-America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries.

This paper provides early instrumental data recovered for 20 countries of Latin-America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, British Guiana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France (Martinique and Guadalupe), Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Suriname) during the 18th and 19th centuries. The main meteorological variables retrieved were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, but other variables, such as humidity, wind direction, and state of the sky were retrieved when possible. In total, more than 300,000 early instrumental data were rescued (96% with daily resolution).