Flash Droughts: From Monitoring to Impacts

In contrast to typical definitions of drought, which describe this hazard as developing slowly, flash droughts are characterized by a rapid onset of drought conditions (e.g. lack of precipitation, heatwaves, soil moisture depletion) that often lead to outsized impacts. Since the first heavily-studied flash drought event in 2012, significant progress has been made in methods for identifying flash droughts: from the standardized precipitation index (SPI), soil moisture indices, evapotranspirative indices, to even remotely-sensed plant condition indices, identification methods vary widely in their observed variables. However, beyond a few benchmark flash drought events, little research exists that demonstrates just how impactful these events can be, particularly in sectors beyond agriculture.

We invite researchers and organizations from various backgrounds to join us for a 1.5-day in-person workshop discussing not only the current state of flash drought research through talks and posters, but also future potential directions through an interdisciplinary panel of stakeholders and researchers of different backgrounds who are also affected by drought.

Information at a Glance

• Dates and times: Thursday, 26.11.2026 from 9:00-17:00 and Friday, 27.11.2026 from 9:00-12:30
• Location: KIT Building 30.28 Seminar room 3 (R005), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 6, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
• Costs: This workshop is free for participants. A limited pool of travel support funding is available for early-career researchers.
• Registration and Abstract Submission Deadline: 30.10.2026.

We invite flash drought-related contributions from researchers of all career stages, but particularly from early career researchers and researchers with diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds such as women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, researchers with disabilities, and researchers from historically overexploited countries.

Workshop Details

Registration

Registration is open until 30.10.2026 or until the limit of 40 participants is reached. If you have registered but are no longer able to attend, please deregister by sending an email ASAP.

Schedule

The schedule is subject to change until the beginning of November.

Workshop Organizers

Chair: Sarah Quynh-Giang Ho (KIT)

Committee Members: Andrea Leonor Campoverde Marquez (KIT), Pedro Henrique Lima Alencar (TU Berlin)

Workshop Location

Address: KIT Building 30.28 Seminar room 3 (R005), Wolfgang-Gaede-Straße 6, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

What’s Nearby?

• The Karlsruhe Christmas Market at the Marktplatz begins on 23.11.
• Although the Badisches Landesmuseum, also known as the Karlsruhe Castle, is unfortunately closed for rennovations, the castle gardens (Schlossgarten) are still free to walk through!
  • The Botanical Gardens, located in the castle gardens, are also worth a visit.
• The Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, ZKM) always has new exhibitions.