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Climate and science reporter
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From Somalia to mainland Europe, the past two years have seen some of the most ravaging droughts in recorded history, made worse by climate change, according to a UN-backed report.
Describing drought as a “silent killer” which “creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion” the report said it had exacerbated issues like poverty and ecosystem collapse.
The report highlighted impacts in Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Southeast Asia, including an estimated 4.4 million people in Somalia facing crisis-level food insecurity at the beginning of this year.
It recommends governments prepare for a “new normal” with measures including stronger early warning systems.
“This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen,” said co-author Dr Mark Svoboda, founding director of the US National Drought Mitigation Center.
“This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.”
The Drought Hotspots Around the World report identifies the most severely impacted regions from 2023 to 2025.
During this time, the warming effects of climate change were made worse by an El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon that affects global weather patterns.
An El Niño happens when surface waters in the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean become unusually warm.
It often leads to drier conditions in regions such as southern Africa, parts of south-east Asia, northern South America, and south-east Australia.
Pressure from humans, for example the use of irrigation in agriculture, has also put a strain on
