Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, and Opportunities

作者：Amir AghaKouchak, Ali Mirchi, Kaveh Madani, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Ali Nazemi, Aneseh Alborzi, Hassan Anjileli, M. Azarderakhsh, Felicia Chiang, Elmira Hassanzadeh · 发表于：Reviews of Geophysics · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1029/2019rg000683 · 研究领域：Hydrology and Drought Analysis、Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies、Flood Risk Assessment and Management

Abstract Traditional, mainstream definitions of drought describe it as deficit in water‐related variables or water‐dependent activities (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture, surface and groundwater storage, and irrigation) due to natural variabilities that are out of the control of local decision‐makers. Here, we argue that within coupled human‐water systems, drought must be defined and understood as a process as opposed to a product to help better frame and describe the complex and interrelated dynamics of both natural and human‐induced changes that define anthropogenic drought as a compound multidimensional and multiscale phenomenon, governed by the combination of natural water variability, climate change, human decisions and activities, and altered micro‐climate conditions due to changes in land and water management. This definition considers the full spectrum of dynamic feedbacks and processes (e.g., land‐atmosphere interactions and water and energy balance) within human‐nature systems that drive the development of anthropogenic drought . This process magnifies the water supply demand gap and can lead to water bankruptcy, which will become more rampant around the globe in the coming decades due to continuously growing water demands under compounding effects of climate change and global environmental degradation. This challenge has de facto implications for both short‐term and long‐term water resources planning and management, water governance, and policymaking. Herein, aft...