ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: A prerequisite to mitigate the wide range of drought impacts is to establish a good understanding of the drought generating mechanisms from their initiation as a meteorological drought through to their development as soil moisture and hydrological drought. The DROUGHT-R&SPI project has contributed to increased understanding of: (i) drought as a natural hazard through analysis of historical large-scale droughts in Europe, (ii) drought-controlling mechanisms for various scales, including large-scale climate drivers and local-scale processes, (iii) the potential for drought early warning and forecasting, and (iv) suitable drought indicators. The results provide new insight into key characteristics and drivers of major historical droughts as well as projected future drought. The paper summarises the main outcomes of these studies and identifies further research needs.
