Droughts influence patterns of human settlements in Africa

Droughts are increasing in frequency and intensity in many African countries. Their occurrences severely affect agricultural production and thus potentially contribute to human displacement. Yet, the way in which droughts influence patterns of human settlements remain poorly understood. Here we show that drought occurrences across Africa are often associated with (other things being equal) human displacements towards rivers and cities. Our results show that 73-81% of African countries exhibit larger human mobility towards water bodies and urban areas during drought conditions, as compared to non-drought periods. This may result into increasing floodplain population, and thus into potentially larger flood losses, or overcrowding urban areas. As such, our results shed light on the interplay between hydrologic extremes and society, bolstering the analysis on the spatiotemporal dynamics of drought risks in a warming world.