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Drought is not just about dry weather. It can collapse food systems, cut off energy supplies, and push families into desperate situations. A new report by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the US National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) reveals how global droughts from 2023 to 2025 have reached historic levels. Based on data from hundreds of sources, the report maps out the regions hit hardest.
“It’s not a dry spell,” said Dr. Mark Svoboda, NDMC director and co-author of the report. “This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Drought Crisis
In early June 2025, about 35 percent of the EU and the UK were under drought alerts. The areas most affected include southern Spain, parts of Türkiye, Cyprus, Greece, and large sections of Ukraine and the Balkans.
Spain has seen two years of extreme heat and drought, cutting its olive crop in half. This caused olive oil prices to double. The crisis hit agriculture, water supply, and tourism all at once.
In Türkiye, groundwater levels have dropped sharply. Sinkholes have opened in some areas, damaging homes and roads. Experts warn that these changes are irreversible.
“The Mediterranean countries represent canaries in the coal mine for all modern economies,” said Dr. Svoboda. “The struggles in Spain, Morocco and Türkiye are a warning for others.”
Eastern and Southern Africa are facing the most severe consequences. More than 90 million people are at risk of hunger.
In Somalia, 43,000 people died from drought-related hunger in 2022 alone. As of 2025, over 4 million face crisis-level food insecurity.
Zambia’s main river, the Zambezi, dropped to 20 percent of its normal level in April 2024. The country’s largest hydroelectric dam dropped to 7 percent generation, leading to blackouts lasting up to 21 hours a day.
“This is not just about weather,” said Dr. Kelly Helm Smith, co-author and assistant director at NDMC. “It’s a social, economic, and environmental emergency.”
Global Drought Hotspots (2023–2025)
| Region | Country / Area | Key Impacts |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | Eastern & Southern Africa | 90+ million face hunger, worst droughts on record |
| Somalia | 43,000 drought-linked deaths in 2022 | |
| Zambia | 21-hour blackouts due to Zambezi River drop | |
| Europe | Spain | 50% drop in olive crop, olive oil prices doubled |
| Türkiye | Groundwater depletion, sinkholes, infrastructure risk | |
| UK, Poland, Greece | Widespread drought warnings in 2024–2025 | |
| Middle East/North Africa | Morocco | 38% decline in sheep population, water shortages |
| Asia | India, Thailand | Drought-hit crops raised global sugar prices by 8.9% |
| Southeast Asia | Multiple countries | Rice, coffee, sugar supply chains disrupted |
| Latin America | Amazon Basin (Brazil, etc.) | Record-low rivers, fish/dolphin die-offs, towns cut off from drinking water |
| Panama (Canal) | Ship traffic cut by one-third, major trade disruption |
Drought Hits Food, Trade, Lives
In Brazil’s Amazon Basin, drought has left rivers at record lows. Entire towns lost access to drinking water. Fish and dolphins died in large numbers. Transportation stopped in many areas.
At the Panama Canal, low water levels between late 2023 and early 2024 cut ship transits by over a third. This disrupted global supply chains and delayed goods worldwide.
In Southeast Asia, drought has disrupted the production of rice, sugar, and coffee. Dry conditions in India and Thailand caused price spikes worldwide, including an 8.9 percent jump in sugar prices in the US.
Across all regions, women and children are suffering the worst impacts.
In Eastern Africa, forced child marriages more than doubled. Families turned to dowries as a survival strategy. In Zimbabwe, hunger and poor sanitation caused large school dropouts, especially among girls.
“The coping mechanisms we saw during this drought grew increasingly desperate,” said Paula Guastello, drought impacts researcher at NDMC.
In the Amazon, Indigenous and rural communities were cut off completely. With rivers at their lowest levels ever recorded, women gave birth without access to help. Entire villages went without drinking water.
In Panama, the drought shut down part of the global shipping system. Traffic through the Panama Canal was slashed from 38 to 24 ships per day for months. This disrupted global trade and raised shipping costs.
Southeast Asia faced shortages of rice, sugar, and coffee. Drought in Thailand and India helped push US sugar prices up by nearly 9 percent.
“Drought creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. “Its scars run deep.”
What Needs to Change
The report calls for urgent action.
It recommends stronger early warning systems, better drought monitoring, and new infrastructure to ensure reliable water and energy. It also calls for global cooperation to protect shared rivers and trade routes.
Nature-based solutions are also highlighted. These include restoring watersheds and planting drought-resistant crops. And there's a clear message to make all responses more inclusive, especially for women and girls.
“Drought creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. “Its scars run deep.”
He warns that without serious action, drought will continue to reshape societies.
“It is here, escalating, and demands urgent global cooperation,” Thiaw said. “When energy, food, and water all go at once, societies start to unravel. That’s the new normal we need to be ready for.”
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