Articles | Volume 29, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1295-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1295-2025
Research article
 | 
11 Mar 2025
Research article |  | 11 Mar 2025

Distribution, trends, and drivers of flash droughts in the United Kingdom

Iván Noguera, Jamie Hannaford, and Maliko Tanguy

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Cited articles

Anderson, M., Hain, C., Otkin, J., Zhan, X., Mo, K., Svoboda, M., Wardlow, B., and Pimstein, A.: An Intercomparison of Drought Indicators Based on Thermal Remote Sensing and NLDAS-2 Simulations with U.S. Drought Monitor Classifications, J. Hydrometeorol., 14, 1035–1056, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-12-0140.1, 2013. 
Bachmair, S., Kohn, I., and Stahl, K.: Exploring the link between drought indicators and impacts, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1381–1397, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-15-1381-2015, 2015. 
Barker, L. J., Hannaford, J., Chiverton, A., and Svensson, C.: From meteorological to hydrological drought using standardised indicators, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 2483–2505, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-2483-2016, 2016. 
Barker, L. J., Hannaford, J., Parry, S., Smith, K. A., Tanguy, M., and Prudhomme, C.: Historic hydrological droughts 1891–2015: systematic characterisation for a diverse set of catchments across the UK, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4583–4602, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4583-2019, 2019. 
Barker, L. J., Hannaford, J., Magee, E., Turner, S., Sefton, C., Parry, S., Evans, J., Szczykulska, M., and Haxton, T.: An appraisal of the severity of the 2022 drought and its impacts, Weather, 99, 208–219, https://doi.org/10.1002/WEA.4531, 2024. 
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Short summary
The study provides a detailed characterisation of flash drought in the UK for 1969–2021. The spatio-temporal distribution and trends of flash droughts are highly variable, with important regional and seasonal contrasts. In the UK, flash drought development responds primarily to precipitation variability, while the atmospheric evaporative demand plays a secondary role. We also found that the North Atlantic Oscillation is the main circulation pattern controlling flash drought development.
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