Indicator 1.2.2: drought—headline finding: the global land area affected by extreme drought per year increased from 18% in 1951–60 to 47% in 2013–22
In 2022, extreme drought affected every continent. Impacts on crop yields and loss of livestock worsened food insecurity, and water shortages affected water security in vulnerable areas

Published annually, the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement. All content on this page is either Open Access or has been made free to read with registration.

The Lancet Countdown: tracking progress on health and climate change was established to provide an independent, global monitoring system dedicated to tracking the health dimensions of the impacts of, and the response to, climate change.

The 44 indicators of this latest report, published in October 2021, expose an unabated rise in the health impacts of climate change, and a delayed and inconsistent response of countries around the world. The imperative is clear for accelerated action putting the health of people and planet above all else.

The global land area affected by extreme drought increased from 18% in 1951–60 to 47% in 2013–22 (indicator 1.2.2), jeopardising water security, sanitation, and food production. A higher frequency of heatwaves and droughts in 2021 was associated with 127 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity compared with 1981–2010 (indicator 1.4), putting millions of people at risk of malnutrition and potentially irreversible health effects. The changing climatic conditions are also putting more populations at risk of life-threatening infectious diseases, such as dengue, malaria, vibriosis, and West Nile virus (indicator 1.3).
Compounding rapidly rising temperatures, droughts increasingly affect global food security (indicator 1.4), water security, sanitation, supply chains, and energy generation.27, 61, 62 Africa was also the region most affected by droughts, with 64% of its land area affected by at least 1 month of extreme drought per year on average in 2013–22, up from 9% in 1951–60. In the Horn of Africa, some areas experienced a full 12 months of drought in 2022, pushing millions to the brink of famine.21, 23, 63, 64 Mostly reflecting Australia's record 2017–20 drought, Oceania was the second most affected region, with 55% of its land area experiencing extreme drought in 2013–22 (an increase from 14% in 1951–60).65, 66 In South and Central America, 53% of land area was affected in 2013–22, including year-round droughts in parts of central Brazil's Amazon rainforest, increasing risks of forest dieback (indicator 1.2.2).67

From the 2021 report:
Indicator 1.2.2: drought—headline finding: in 2020, up to 19% of the global land surface was affected by extreme drought in any given month
Climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration of drought events. These changes pose threats to water security, sanitation, and food productivity and increase the risk of wildfires and exposure of the environment to pollutants.

This indicator tracks the land area affected by extreme drought events using the standardised precipitation-evapotranspiration index (extreme drought ≤1·6 and exceptional drought ≤2, in alignment with the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss), capturing the changes in precipitation and the effect of temperature on evaporation and moisture loss. More details abo ut this indicator are provided in appendix 5 (pp 25–27).
The global land surface area affected by extreme drought conditions has consistently increased since 1990. The proportion of the world's land surface with extreme drought in any given month reached a maximum of 22% in 2010–19; a value that had only reached 13% in 1950–99 (figure 7).

Furthermore, the 5 years with the most area affected by extreme drought have all occurred since 2015, and the Horn of Africa, a region impacted by recurrent extreme droughts and food insecurity,was one of the most affected areas in 2020.