Context

A new modelling has revealed startling details about Australia as the continent heads for unprecedented drought conditions (megadroughts) that could last over two decades.

What are Megadroughts?

• Megadroughts are persistent, multi-year drought events that stand out as especially extreme in terms of severity, duration, or spatial extent when compared to other droughts of the last two thousand years
• Megadroughts have occurred on every continent outside of Antarctica, often causing major disturbances to ecosystems (e.g., forests in the Southwest U.) and societies (e.g., the Maya in Central America, the Ming Dynasty in northern China).