Drought rather than increase in temperature is a major threat to civilization

Drought is now recognized by many experts as a greater immediate threat to civilization than elevated temperature alone, due to its extensive impacts on water supplies, agriculture, health, and economic stability.weforum+2

Drought’s Systemic Impacts

Prolonged drought directly jeopardizes drinking water, food security, energy production, and ecosystem resiliency across the world. In recent years, entire regions have faced crises—such as millions displaced in Africa and severe crop failures in North and South America—primarily due to lack of precipitation and water shortages rather than solely rising temperatures.joint-research-centre.europa+3

• Droughts threaten both rural and urban societies by degrading water quality, increasing health risks, and disrupting food production, which can lead to malnutrition and disease, especially among vulnerable populations like children.undrr+1

• Energy and transport sectors suffer as rivers and lakes dry up, affecting hydropower, navigation, and fueling disputes over remaining resources.oecd+1

• Droughts tend to persist longer and cover larger areas than heatwaves, making adaptation far more difficult and requiring complex innovations in water management and agriculture.climatlantic+1

Comparison: Drought vs. Heat

Rising temperatures amplify droughts by increasing evaporation rates and shifting precipitation patterns, but droughts themselves are often more disruptive and deadly than heatwaves alone. Drought is a “slow-moving disaster”—unfolding over months or years, silently eroding the foundations of civilization: water, food, and social order.latimes+3

Threat	Typical Impacts	Potential for Civilizational Risk	Adaptation Challenges
Temperature Increase	Heatwaves, health risk, energy demand rise latimes	Severe, but often acute/episodic	Some adaptation possible
Drought	Water, food, energy crisis, displacement undrr	Chronic, widespread, persistent	Long, costly, difficult

Conclusion

While temperatures continue to rise globally, it is the intensification and expansion of drought across continents that poses the more systemic threat to civilization’s core functions—making drought mitigation, resilience, and water management urgent global priorities.weforum+2

1. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/08/drought-what-to-know-global-risk/
2. https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/global-drought-threatens-food-supplies-and-energy-production-2024-10-02_en
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20. https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-agriculture-and-food-supply