Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future

Drought-flood abrupt alteration (DFAA) events threaten global food security, exacerbated by global warming, particularly in China. Given this, a more refined and comprehensive analysis of DFAA events in China can provide valuable insights for global mitigation efforts. This study examines the freque...

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Main Authors: Shuai Zheng, Baisha Weng, Wuxia Bi, Denghua Yan, Liliang Ren, Hao Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Agricultural Water Management
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001635
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author Shuai Zheng
Baisha Weng
Wuxia Bi
Denghua Yan
Liliang Ren
Hao Wang
author_facet Shuai Zheng
Baisha Weng
Wuxia Bi
Denghua Yan
Liliang Ren
Hao Wang
author_sort Shuai Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Drought-flood abrupt alteration (DFAA) events threaten global food security, exacerbated by global warming, particularly in China. Given this, a more refined and comprehensive analysis of DFAA events in China can provide valuable insights for global mitigation efforts. This study examines the frequency, intensity, and coverage of DFAA events during the historical periods (HIS, 1961–2014) and under future climate projections based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs: SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585, 2015–2100) using a daily-scale determination method. The results revealed that regions with frequent DFAA events also experience higher intensity and broader impact areas. Compared to HIS, DFAA event frequency, intensity, and coverage increased by 31 %, 3 %, and 37 % under SSPs, reaching 7.31 events/year, 1.069, and 0.422 %. Across both HIS and SSPs, the proportions of light (75 %-78 %), moderate (18 %-21 %), and severe (4 %-5 %) DFAA events remained relatively stable. YGP, HHHP, MLYP, NCP, and NASR are the five hotspot areas. Analysis attributes 45 % (P < 0.05) of DFAA frequency variability to drought and flood frequency (74.45 %) and duration (25.55 %). Furthermore, low to medium emission scenarios show significant potential to reduce DFAA occurrence, offering direction to mitigate the impacts of global warming, particularly as mid-latitude regions have emerged as DFAA hotspots over the past 30 years. These findings provide critical insights for countries addressing climate change and ensuring food security.
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spelling doaj-art-4fcc35208c8846f898e448e500df6bf82025-08-20T03:10:34ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131210944910.1016/j.agwat.2025.109449Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's futureShuai Zheng0Baisha Weng1Wuxia Bi2Denghua Yan3Liliang Ren4Hao Wang5State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; Yinshanbeilu Grassland Eco-hydrology National Observation and Research Station, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, ChinaCollege of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, ChinaDrought-flood abrupt alteration (DFAA) events threaten global food security, exacerbated by global warming, particularly in China. Given this, a more refined and comprehensive analysis of DFAA events in China can provide valuable insights for global mitigation efforts. This study examines the frequency, intensity, and coverage of DFAA events during the historical periods (HIS, 1961–2014) and under future climate projections based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs: SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585, 2015–2100) using a daily-scale determination method. The results revealed that regions with frequent DFAA events also experience higher intensity and broader impact areas. Compared to HIS, DFAA event frequency, intensity, and coverage increased by 31 %, 3 %, and 37 % under SSPs, reaching 7.31 events/year, 1.069, and 0.422 %. Across both HIS and SSPs, the proportions of light (75 %-78 %), moderate (18 %-21 %), and severe (4 %-5 %) DFAA events remained relatively stable. YGP, HHHP, MLYP, NCP, and NASR are the five hotspot areas. Analysis attributes 45 % (P < 0.05) of DFAA frequency variability to drought and flood frequency (74.45 %) and duration (25.55 %). Furthermore, low to medium emission scenarios show significant potential to reduce DFAA occurrence, offering direction to mitigate the impacts of global warming, particularly as mid-latitude regions have emerged as DFAA hotspots over the past 30 years. These findings provide critical insights for countries addressing climate change and ensuring food security.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001635Drought-flood abrupt alterationClimate changeShared Socioeconomic PathwaysFood security
spellingShingle Shuai Zheng
Baisha Weng
Wuxia Bi
Denghua Yan
Liliang Ren
Hao Wang
Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
Agricultural Water Management
Drought-flood abrupt alteration
Climate change
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Food security
title Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
title_full Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
title_fullStr Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
title_full_unstemmed Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
title_short Significant increase and escalation of drought-flood abrupt alteration in China's future
title_sort significant increase and escalation of drought flood abrupt alteration in china s future
topic Drought-flood abrupt alteration
Climate change
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
Food security
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001635
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