The number of regions affected by drought globally doubled between 1900 and 2020, according to a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the analysis, droughts have become more frequent, more severe and longer-lasting due to climate change, with increasingly costly effects on societies, economies and ecosystems. • One fifth of the Earth's surface under threat of drought At the beginning of the 20th century, droughts affected around 10% of