Short answers, pulled from the story.
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report published in 2021 defines a drought as simply a period of drier-than-normal conditions. This definition describes a moisture deficit relative to average water availability at a specific location and season.
By the early 1980s, over 150 different definitions for drought had already been published. These varied definitions reflect differences across regions, needs, and disciplinary approaches.
The World Meteorological Organization recommends the Standardized Precipitation Index for identifying meteorological droughts across different climates. This metric is computed solely based on precipitation data.
In 2005 parts of the Amazon basin experienced the worst drought in one hundred years. A 2006 article reported that the forest in its present form could survive only three years of drought.
Over 5 million people perished from starvation in the Soviet Union during 1921 and 1922 due to combined severe drought and war effects. Northwest China resulted in over 3 million deaths by famine during 1928 and 1930.