The planet is getting hotter, that's for certain, but studies suggest large portions of the planet are also getting variably wetter and drier.

Over the last few decades, intense droughts have stressed water resources across the planet. Now, new findings -- published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Water -- suggest Europe is likely to experience longer more frequent droughts in the decades ahead.

"Summer droughts are a highly relevant topic in Europe," study co-first author Magdalena Mittermeier said in a press release.

"We find a clear trend towards more, longer and more intense summer droughts, in terms of a precipitation deficit, towards the end of the century under a high-emission carbon scenario," said Mittermeier, climate scientist at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich in Germany.

Because they can have so many different impacts -- economic, social and environmental -- there are various definitions of drought. However, all droughts, whether hydrological, agricultural or socio-economic, begin as meteorological droughts.

The latest climate models suggest precipitation levels across Europe are likely to decrease during the summer and increase during the winter through the end of the century.

Throughout Europe's middle latitudes, summertime drought conditions are predicted to increase by 25 percent. In France, the frequency of extreme droughts is expected to increase by 60 percent by 2100.

In places that are already dry, such as the Iberian Peninsula, small decreases in summertime precipitation could have oversized consequences, leading to extreme drought conditions across large portions of the Mediterranean.

For the study, scientists used historical averages to calculate the normal range of precipitation for different parts of Europe. Then, using the most up-to-date climate model, scientists simulated future precipitation totals under a high-emission carbon scenario.

The analysis revealed the largest differences in France, the Alps, the Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula.

"Unmitigated climate change ... will drastically increase the frequency, duration and intensity of summer droughts in many European regions," Mittermeier said.

"Such extreme effects can be avoided by climate mitigation. This is why consistent mitigation of climate change as agreed on under the Paris Agreement is highly relevant in terms of droughts in Europe," Mittermeier said.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

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