A global dataset of spatiotemporal drought events from reanalysis and hydrological model data for 1980–2024
We present a global dataset of spatiotemporally clustered drought events for 1980-2024, derived from daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and surface runoff data. Drought conditions were consistently defined using a 10th percentile threshold and clustered in space and time using a three-dimensional implementation of the Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) algorithm. The dataset represents droughts as coherent spatiotemporal events rather than isolated grid-cell anomalies. For each drought event, it provides detailed metadata on spatial extent, temporal duration, severity, and centroid position. By applying a consistent event-detection framework across atmospheric forcing, root-zone soil moisture, and runoff response, the dataset supports systematic analysis of global drought dynamics and compound extremes. The dataset is openly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18292641, providing a reusable resource for climate, hydrology, and hazard research.
Authors
- Oldřich Rakovec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2451-3305)
- Yannis Markonis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0144-8969)
- Carmelo Cammalleri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4834-7508)
- Jan Řehoř (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1290-2186)
- Rohini Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4396-2037)
- Vojtěch Moravec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0358-9837)
- Martin Hanel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8317-6711)
- Vít Šťovíček (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4997-8056)
- Miroslav Trnka
Institutions
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CZ)
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute (CZ)
- T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute (CZ)
- Mendel University in Brno (CZ)
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Data
- Published
- 2026-06-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07750-x
- Primary Topic
- Hydrology and Drought Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky
- Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung
- Česká Zemědělská Univerzita v Praze