VAIBHAV KUMAR
Dr. Vaibhav Kumar is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, National Research Council (CNR), Perugia, Italy. His research focuses on diagnosing and monitoring hydroclimatic extremes—particularly flash and conventional droughts—through advanced geospatial analytics and climate data modeling.
He completed his Ph.D. in Geomatics Engineering at National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan), where he developed novel frameworks to characterize the onset, intensity, and persistence of droughts using multi-source observational and modeled datasets. His research integrates climate simulations, satellite remote sensing, and machine learning to support climate-resilient hydrological applications.
Prior to this, he was associated with the DST Centre of Excellence in Climate Modeling at IIT Delhi, and NARL-Tirupati. Dr. Kumar has authored peer-reviewed articles in Journal of Hydrology, Remote Sensing Applications, and Scientific Reports. He has presented at premier conferences including AGU, EGU, AOGS, and WMO workshops, and is an active member of EGU, AOGS, JSPS, and the YESS community.
His current work supports the development of integrated drought early warning systems and climate impact models for South Asia.
Sessions
The frequency of flash droughts, characterized by their sudden and intense onset, is rising globally, posing significant challenges in drought monitoring. However, consensus on whether flash droughts are becoming the new norm remains unclear, as slow-developing droughts may also be increasing. Flash droughts have transient but severe consequences on agriculture productivity, water resources, and ecosystems. Despite the urgency, researchers have not thoroughly investigated the key features of flash droughts in India, and they have not adequately addressed the mechanisms behind rapid soil moisture depletion during these events. This study proposes a framework for detecting flash droughts, which defines them based on the rapidity of soil drying at the onset of the drought and extends to its duration. The analysis further focused on flash drought characterization, i.e., frequency, mean duration, mean severity, and mean onset speed under observed climate continuous from 1981 to 2022 over India. Atmospheric aridity likely creates flash drought-prone environments. The combined effects of atmospheric aridity and soil moisture depletion increase the frequency of flash droughts. Under observed climate conditions, the frequency of regional flash droughts remained high in the core monsoon region. The north-west (NW) and central north-east (CNE) regions experienced more frequent flash droughts. The west-central (WC) and peninsular region (PR) experienced moderate to low magnitudes of flash drought events. In addition, the average length of time and severity of the events stayed high in the CNE and NW regions, while the flash droughts were very short and mild in the WC and PR regions during the adapted period. These findings emphasize the need to adapt to the increasing occurrence of rapid-onset droughts in a changing climate, which can significantly impact crop production and pose challenges for agricultural irrigation. Understanding of the characteristics of these rapid and severe drought events is essential for enhancing resilience and preparedness.
Keywords: Flash droughts, Soil-moisture, Drought characterization, India.