{"id":59317,"date":"2026-04-07T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/news\/a-new-ai-system-has-learned-to-predict-drought-six-months-before-it-occurs\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T07:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:29:00","slug":"a-new-ai-system-has-learned-to-predict-drought-six-months-before-it-occurs","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/news\/a-new-ai-system-has-learned-to-predict-drought-six-months-before-it-occurs\/","title":{"rendered":"A new AI system has learned to predict drought six months before it occurs."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Researchers in Spain have developed a smart algorithm that can predict meteorological droughts up to six months in advance. For regions where every drop of water counts, such a tool becomes a vital aid in water resource management.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scientists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia combined data from four global climate modeling centers, added historical weather information over the past decades, and ran it all through <a data-id=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/intellektualnyj-pomoshhnik-geologa\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/intellektualnyj-pomoshhnik-geologa\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">artificial intelligence algorithms<\/a>. The result is a system that calculates standard drought indices &#8211; SPI and SPEI &#8211; with unprecedented accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Testing took place in the Jucar River basin, a typical semi-arid Mediterranean region where droughts occur frequently and water is needed for agriculture, cities, and the environment. For six-month indices, forecast reliability reaches almost 90% in the first month and remains above 60% for three months ahead. Even a year or two ahead, the system retains useful predictive ability.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previously, seasonal forecasts were unreliable. Now, thanks <a data-id=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/ai-nahodit-mestorozhdeniya\/\" data-type=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/ai-nahodit-mestorozhdeniya\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">machine learning<\/a>, you can correct errors in climate models and adapt them to a specific region. Moreover, all data used in the system is open and accessible throughout the world, and the algorithm itself already works in the web interface, ready for practical use.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now water utilities and farmers will have time to prepare for drought &#8211; accumulate supplies, change irrigation schedules, and redistribute resources. This will reduce economic losses and increase resilience to climate change. In a world where droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, such a tool moves water management from a mode of passive reaction to a mode of active management.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Source: phys.org<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Image: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers in Spain have developed a smart algorithm that can predict meteorological droughts up to six months in advance. For regions where every drop of water counts, such a tool becomes a vital aid in water resource management. Scientists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia combined data from four global cl<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":53442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A new AI system has learned to predict drought six months before it occurs.","_seopress_titles_desc":"Spanish scientists have created a system that predicts drought for 6 months with an accuracy of 90%. Find out how AI is helping water utilities and farmers prepare ahead.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,126],"tags":[321,385],"class_list":["post-59317","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","category-it","category-eco","tag-iskusstvennyj-intellekt-v-geologii","tag-klimat-i-ekosistemy"],"acf":[],"pbg_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii.webp",2128,1354,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-150x95.webp",150,95,true],"medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-300x191.webp",300,191,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-768x489.webp",768,489,true],"large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-1024x652.webp",1024,652,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-1536x977.webp",1536,977,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-2048x1303.webp",2048,1303,true],"bricks_large_16x9":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-1200x675.webp",1200,675,true],"bricks_large":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-1200x764.webp",1200,764,true],"bricks_large_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-1200x1200.webp",1200,1200,true],"bricks_medium":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-600x382.webp",600,382,true],"bricks_medium_square":["https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/prognozirovanie-zasukhi-ii-600x600.webp",600,600,true]},"pbg_author_info":{"display_name":"Yulia Frolova","author_link":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/author\/giulia-nikolaevna\/","author_img":false},"pbg_comment_info":" No Comments","pbg_excerpt":"Researchers in Spain have developed a smart algorithm that can predict meteorological droughts up to six months in advance. For regions where every drop of water counts, such a tool becomes a vital aid in water resource management. Scientists from the Polytechnic University of Valencia combined data from four global cl","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/59317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/59317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/geoconversation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}