ABSTRACT
Droughts have important negative impacts on human society and many of its key activities. Different data can be used to characterize past droughts over the territory of the Czech lands. Because documentary data from the Czech lands before 1500 are rather sporadic, some potential for drought reconstruction is offered by tree-ring width (TRW) data, represented by annually resolved oak TRW chronology, covering 761–2010. Droughts in the Czech lands are related to the prevailing anticyclonic character of the weather with lack of precipitation and above-mean temperatures, enhancing the severity of droughts by intensified evapotranspiration. Various series of external or internal climate forcings were investigated with regard to their possible effect on Czech droughts. Although drought trends are obvious and clearly attributable to anthropogenic activities, it is important to estimate potential changes in the length, frequency, and intensity of the future droughts. Analysis of historical data shows evidence of exceptional drought episodes with the capability to seriously harm the agrarian economy.
