Nearly 700 million people could be living in extreme drought by 2100

By Donna Lu

Kristian Bell/Getty Images

The number of people living in extreme drought could hit nearly 700 million by the end of the century, more than triple the number today. The total area of land affected could also more than double by 2100.

Yadu Pokhrel at Michigan State University and his colleagues have modelled how the amount of water stored on land will change under varying degrees of climate change.

They studied a measure known as terrestrial water storage, which represents the sum of all water available on land, including water stored in canopies, snow, rivers, lakes …