One finding: natural fluctuations in dry periods are being significantly amplified by the climate crisis, as has been evident in Austria in recent years.

The team of researchers from ZAMG, TU Wien, BOKU, b.geos GmbH and the University of Graz examined, in the study published on Tuesday to mark the UN World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the link between the clustering of drought periods in the Alpine region and large-scale weather systems in the Northern Hemisphere over the past two centuries. Interactions between the seasons and the influence of global warming were also investigated.

Longer, pronounced drought periods that can persist for several years occur in the Alpine region at intervals of a few decades — such as in the 1860s and 1940s. Following the drought of the 1860s, for instance, Lake Neusiedl dried up almost completely for the last time.

Read the full article at: orf.at