Rethinking Australian drought risk, its long-term variability and processes

Drought risk describes the likelihood that damage will result from exposure to drought. This project will
fundamentally reshape how we define, characterise and understand drought risk in Australia. A framework
for drought risk will be applied that includes the complete range of characteristics that modulate the impacts
of drought, which are the frequency of recurrence, duration, severity, seasonality and spatial extent. Longterm
changes in drought risk will be examined and the process-based climatic risk factors will be identified.
Advancing knowledge on the nature and causes of the long-term changes in drought risk is crucial to
improving risk management of drought in agricultural and water resource sectors.