A Century of Drought Research (1900–2023): Scientific Developments, Methodological Innovations, and Emerging Frontiers

Abstract Drought significantly affects water resources, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems, revealing enduring socio‐economic vulnerabilities over the centuries. This review synthesizes a century of development and recent advances in drought research (1900–2023), drawing on a bibliometric analysis of over 152,000 peer‐reviewed publications. The review begins by exploring ancient and historical droughts, their climatic drivers, and societal impacts, then examines the evolving disciplinary landscape, shifting research priorities, and the progression of drought research over the past century. Key methodological advances are discussed, including statistical and probabilistic modeling, machine learning, and deep learning. Technical milestones such as satellite remote sensing, hydrological and land surface modeling, and global climate modeling have greatly expanded both the scope and precision of drought studies. Research on climate change has deepened understanding of drought processes by examining changes in climate variability and teleconnections, attributing events to human influence, and projecting future risks. Simultaneously, there has been a notable shift from reactive approaches to resilience‐oriented management, enhancing preparedness. In the past decade, increasing attention has focused on emerging societal challenges such as environmental degradation, public health risks, social inequities, and resource conflicts. Despite significant progress, critical gaps remain, including the need for stakeholder‐informed indicators, improved flash drought detection, a deeper understanding of cascading processes, integration of human‐driven factors, enhanced interpretability of AI models, next‐generation satellite monitoring, and comprehensive risk management for drought‐related compound hazards. This synthesis consolidates a century of progress and presents a forward‐looking framework aimed at strengthening resilience and guiding actionable drought risk governance.