Articles | Volume 29, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3341-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-3341-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 30 Jul 2025
| 30 Jul 2025
Global catalog of soil moisture droughts over the past four decades
Institute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, 61137, Czech Republic
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Rudolf Brázdil
Institute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, 61137, Czech Republic
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Oldřich Rakovec
UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, 04318, Germany
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
Martin Hanel
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
Milan Fischer
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, 63132, Czech Republic
Rohini Kumar
UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, 04318, Germany
Jan Balek
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, 63132, Czech Republic
Markéta Poděbradská
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, 63132, Czech Republic
Vojtěch Moravec
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, Prague, 16000, Czech Republic
Luis Samaniego
UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, 04318, Germany
Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Potsdam, 14469, Germany
Yannis Markonis
Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, 16500, Czech Republic
Miroslav Trnka
Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, 60300, Czech Republic
Department of Agrosystems and Bioclimatology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, 63132, Czech Republic
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Cited
6 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Catalogue of Global Land Soil Moisture Drought Events V. Moravec et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.70108
- The characteristics and spatiotemporal evolution of heatwaves and droughts across six typical regions in China Y. Yang & D. Liu https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43650-1
- Improved two stage triangular fuzzy STARMA model for drought forecasting in Southern Telangana C. Preethi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134667
- A global dataset of spatiotemporal drought events from reanalysis and hydrological model data for 1980–2024 V. Šťovíček et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07750-x
- Reconstructed soil moisture droughts in Belgium reveal 2011–2020 was the driest decade since 1970 K. Lekarkar et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2817-2026
- Global record-shattering breadbasket droughts emerge from moderately extreme regional events J. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70700-z
6 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Catalogue of Global Land Soil Moisture Drought Events V. Moravec et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/gdj3.70108
- The characteristics and spatiotemporal evolution of heatwaves and droughts across six typical regions in China Y. Yang & D. Liu https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-43650-1
- Improved two stage triangular fuzzy STARMA model for drought forecasting in Southern Telangana C. Preethi et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134667
- A global dataset of spatiotemporal drought events from reanalysis and hydrological model data for 1980–2024 V. Šťovíček et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07750-x
- Reconstructed soil moisture droughts in Belgium reveal 2011–2020 was the driest decade since 1970 K. Lekarkar et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2817-2026
- Global record-shattering breadbasket droughts emerge from moderately extreme regional events J. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70700-z
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 25 Oct 2026
Short summary
We present a robust method for identification and classification of global land drought events (GLDEs) based on soil moisture. Two models were used to calculate soil moisture and delimit soil drought over global land from 1980–2022, with clusters of 775 and 630 GLDEs. Using four spatiotemporal and three motion-related characteristics, we categorized GLDEs into seven severity and seven dynamic categories. The frequency of GLDEs has generally increased in recent decades.
We present a robust method for identification and classification of global land drought events...
