Human water consumption intensifies hydrological drought worldwide

Abstract

Drought is a natural phenomenon caused by below-normal precipitation over a prolonged period. Recent studies suggest an intensification of drought events over substantial regions due to anthropogenic global warming. Over the past decades, human water consumption has more than doubled, primarily due to a large increase in irrigation, and substantially reduced streamflow over various regions. It can thus be expected that upstream human water consumption intensifies hydrological drought in many regions of the world. Yet, few studies have investigated this impact up to now.