A recent scientific study of droughts by Colorado University scientists has shown that typical hydrological droughts have not changed their rates of intensification over time, the intensification of fast-onset droughts (often called flash droughts) is accelerating and they are developing and getting worse more quickly than any time in the last 70 years of the study. They link it in part to warmer temperatures drying out soils more quickly than in the past. This is bad news for farmers, who are often the most impacted by these rapidly intensifying droughts. In addition, the rapid intensification of droughts is difficult to predict, which will make it hard for farmers to respond to these changes quickly. You can read more at https://cires.colorado.edu/news/fast-onset-droughts-are-accelerating.

Cape Town’s main water supply, at the Theewaterskloof Dam, is running dry, and the city may soon have to turn off its taps. Source: AP