ABSTRACT

In recent years, concern has grown worldwide that droughts may be increasing in frequency and severity given the changing climatic conditions. The socioeconomic impacts of droughts may arise from the interaction between natural conditions and human factors, such as changes in land use and land cover, and water demand and water use. In order to address the issue of national drought policy, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Congress at its 16th session in Geneva in 2011 recommended the organization of a High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP). The objective of the HMNDP was to provide practical insight into useful, science-based actions to address the key drought issues being considered by governments and the private sector under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the various strategies to cope with drought. Major drought patterns are forced by major sea surface temperature (SST) patterns, and skillful drought predictability depends on skillful predictability of major SST patterns.