Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025:
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Centre released a Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025 report highlighting intensifying drought hotspots between 2023–2025.
- Droughts have intensified across Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and Asia — termed “slow-moving catastrophes.”
- Over 90 million people in Eastern and Southern Africa face acute hunger; maize crop losses in Zimbabwe crossed 70%.
- Zambezi River flow dropped to 20% of its long-term average, leading to 21-hour daily power blackouts and halted essential services.
- Two years of drought cut Spain’s olive oil output by 50%, triggering price surges across Europe.
- Drought reduced daily transits from 38 to 24 ships, disturbing global trade and food prices.
- Lowest water levels on record stranded communities, killed river dolphins, and exposed ecological vulnerability.
- Drought-linked poverty doubled child marriages in Ethiopia and caused mass school dropouts in Zimbabwe.
- Over 100 elephants died in Zimbabwe; 200+ river dolphins perished in the Amazon due to extreme heat and water scarcity.
India and Drought Hotspots: - India faces increasing intra-seasonal rainfall variability, worsening water security and crop yield uncertainties.
- As droughts reduce rice and sugar output in Asia, India sees rising pressure on food prices and inflation.
- River basins such as Godavari and Krishna face recurrent drought conditions due to over-extraction and mismanagement.
- Drought-prone states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka experience farmer distress and migration pressures.
