Drought: How to be Prepared for the Hazard?

Drought is one of the most extreme weather-related natural hazards. It differs from other hydrometeorological extremes in several ways. It develops gradually and usually over large areas (transnational), mostly resulting from a prolonged period (from months to years) of below-normal precipitation, and drought can occur nearly anywhere on the globe. This chapter adds knowledge on the drought hazard from recently finished and on-going EU-funded research programmes. It covers a description of recent achievements on: (i) processes that generate the drought hazard and how to identify, (ii) trends in past drought hazard, (iii) projections of drought hazard, (iv) monitoring, management and early warning and (v) impacts and policy associated with the drought hazard. Including recent research progress in drought management and drought policy is crucial to become better prepared for the drought hazard, which is associated with building resilience, and hence reducing vulnerability and risk to future drought.