Toward global drought early warning capability : Expanding international cooperation for the development of a framework for monitoring and forecasting

Significant efforts are being made expanding international cooperation for the development of a framework for monitoring and forecasting. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that average annual river runoff and water availability are projected to decrease by 10%-13% over some dry and semiarid regions in mid and low latitudes, increasing the frequency, intensity, and duration drought, along with its associated impacts. Significant progress has been made toward developing the Global Drought Early Warning Monitoring Framework (GDEWF), an underlying partnership and framework, along with its Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS), which is its interoperable information system, and the organizations that have been working together to make it a reality. The GDEWF aims to improve existing regional and national drought monitoring and forecasting capabilities by adding a global component, facilitating continental monitoring and forecasting and improving these tools at various scales