Expert: New drought era signals global systemic risk

Humanity has entered a "new era of drought," as the world grapples with an escalating systemic drought risk, Daniel Tsegai, program officer at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said in a recent interview.

"Drought was once primarily associated with rainfall and agricultural production," Tsegai said. "But today, it has become a multi-sectoral, systemic shock. No sector, no part of the economy, and no country is immune to its impacts."

Therefore, Tsegai said that drought today is no longer an isolated climate event confined to rural farming regions. The "cascading and spiraling impacts of droughts" are widespread and multidimensional; even megacities are facing water scarcity and extreme drought risks.

He noted that the nature of droughts is changing: they are becoming more frequent, more intense, more widespread and increasingly unpredictable. One particularly alarming trend is the rise of "flash droughts," which develop rapidly over a short time and intensify without sufficient early warning, severely affecting agriculture, water supply and urban operations.

Traditional approaches to drought are no longer sufficient, Tsegai said. "When we talk about drought, we shouldn't just look up to see if it's raining. We need to look down and ask: can we still grow crops? Do we still have the capacity to restore degraded land?"

According to the Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023-2025 report released Wednesday, the frequency of drought events globally increased by 30 percent between 2000 and 2019. Despite being labeled a "silent disaster," the impacts of drought are never silent.

"Drought is a threat multiplier," Tsegai said. "It affects food, water, biodiversity, health and energy – these are all pillars of society that drought is scrambling in front of our eyes."

He highlighted the unequal impacts of drought across populations and regions, noting that around 85 percent of those affected live in low and middle-income countries. "Drought knows no boundaries, but drought knows gender," he said. "In some areas, drought causes hunger, school dropouts, even forces girls into early marriage."

The discussion on drought has been shifting in recent years. "It's very important that we talk about drought as being an economic issue as well," he said. "It is costing countries between one and ten percent of their GDP, depending on the country. The losses are significant."

Drought is indeed "expensive," but the real problem, Tsegai said, lies in the lack of preparedness. Citing recent studies, he noted that "a one-dollar investment in drought resilience brings about seven dollars in recovery." Nevertheless, many countries are still stuck in reactive responses, lacking proactive and forward-looking strategies to deal with drought effectively.

Tsegai noted that over 80 countries have developed national drought plans, but the key challenge lies in putting them into action.

"We need to improve irrigation technology so that we can really help minimize the waste of water. Investing in watershed restoration and indigenous crop systems pays back many times over in avoided losses," he said, highlighting the importance of "nature-based solutions, land restoration, land rehabilitation, and rainwater harvesting."

"This is not a matter of choice, but a necessity," he added.

Tsegai emphasized that addressing drought requires shifting from short-term emergency responses to building long-term resilience. He noted that drought is not limited to a single sector like agriculture or water; instead, it functions as a "connector," impacting everything from tourism and energy to education and public health. Therefore, he called for cross-sectoral and multi-level collaboration involving ministries, local communities, and national governments.

Speaking about China's role in global drought governance, Tsegai said the country has accumulated extensive experience in land restoration and drought-resilient technologies, and is sharing that experience with drought-prone regions like Africa and Central Asia.

"China's support has played a central role in regions like Central Asia and has been widely welcomed," he said. "In Africa, China is helping to shift the paradigm from a reactive approach to a more proactive one, focusing on building drought resilience in advance."

Tsegai noted that "the biggest problem with drought management approaches is the short-termism," highlighting that China not only provides technical expertise and investment, but also supports capacity building, which has "a long-term effect on the change that we want."

"About 130 countries have committed to land-degradation-neutrality under the UNCCD," he said, adding that China's experience, technologies, and expertise will play a constructive role in this global effort to combat drought and restore degraded land.

(Cover: A sandbank on the low-water Danube has been torn up and dried out in Bavaria, Germany, July 2, 2025. /VCG)