Disparity between global drought hazard and awareness

Abstract

Drought is a pervasive natural hazard, which can profoundly affect ecosystems and societies globally. To strengthen the global community’s resilience to droughts, a multi-dimensional understanding of global drought awareness is imperative. Here we investigate global drought awareness at local (awareness of local droughts in the affected country), remote (awareness of remote droughts in other countries), and global levels (awareness from non-exposed countries). This study uses relevant search activity volumes of a country to drought as a proxy of national-level drought awareness. We find that the recent decade has experienced no change in drought hazard over the globe, but the global community has been increasingly seeking information about drought online, that is, elevated awareness of the global community on drought. We further find that long-lasting droughts enhance local- and global-level awareness and high gross domestic product are associated with remote-level awareness. This study provides an observational evidence of global disparities in the awareness/interest regarding drought, underscoring a continuing role of European nations in enhancing global drought awareness.