flash drought

[flash drout]

noun

1. a destructive period of extremely dry weather that forms unusually quickly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flash drought¹

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

OCO-2 was able to detect “solar-induced fluorescence” in plants, an artifact of photosynthesis, which could be used as a “reliable early warning indicator of flash drought with enough lead time to take action,” JPL reported last year.

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With this combination of lack of rainfall and hot weather, parts of the UK went into a 'flash' drought, external.

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Sudden, severe dry spells known as flash droughts are rising in intensity around the world, with a notable exception in mountainous Central Asia, where flash drought extent is shrinking, according to new research.

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The new study is the first to apply a systematic, quantitative approach to the global incidence of flash drought, mapping hotspots and regions of rapid increases in recent decades.

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"The metrics can be used by early warning systems to incorporate rates of change in flash drought characteristics in risk assessment and disaster preparedness."

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