The drought of 1921

Abstract

A.-THE RAINFALL OF THE BRITISH ISLES.THE rainfall during 1921 in the British Isles, especially in the southeast of England, was so remarkable that it was considered worthy of a special investigation. This afforded an opportunity of considering the question of droughts in general. The objects of this section of the paper are therefore really twofold. In the first place, it is proposed to indicate some of the ways in which the rainfall of 1921 was unprecedented, and secondly, to discuss the comparison between 1921 and previous dry periods in such a manner that in the second half of the paper they can be considered in relation to the general circulation of the atmosphere.The great mass of statistical information bearing on the rainfall of the British Isles accumulated by the British Rainfall Organization affords an immense amount of material for an investigation of this nature, the very quantity of which makes it impossible, at such an early date, to discuss the whole exhaustively, and the comparison deals with the matter only in broad outline.The Year 19dl.-Considering the year as a whole, it is seen at once that 1 9 2 1 was, in certain areas, a year of unprecedentedly small rainfall. Sufficient data exist to construct maps showing the percentage of the average' rainfall occurring in the British Isles in each year back to about 1850. Sincc then there is no doubt that the only years which are in any way comparable with 1921 were 1854, 1864, 1870, and 1887. The last mentioned was by far the driest year hitherto known to have occurred in the British Isles. The year lS5S was also dry, especially in England and Wales, but not quite as dry as any of the other years mentioned. Space permits of only a brief account of the maps for these yews :-In 1854 data are wanting for Scotland and Ireland, but the rainfall deficiency seems to have been confined mainly to England and Wales. Isolated areas in the north-west of England had just above the average, and along a coastal strip of the west coast more than 80 per cent. of the average occurred. The deficiency-reached a maximum in the south-east, where it was more than 30 per cent. to the east of a line roughly from Bournemouth to Lincoln.In 1864 areas with excess were confined to the north-enst of Rngland and the centre of Scotland. Practically the whole of Ireland and the north-west of Scotland had between 100 and 85 per cent. of the average. Smaller percentages occurred only in England, where, south of a line from Carmarthen to Spurn Head, less than 80 per cent. was general. Over large areas along the east coast and in Devon and Herefordshire the deficiency exceeded 30 per cent.I n 1870 rainfall above the average occurred only in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. Deficiencies of more than 20 per cent. were recorded widely in the west and centre of Scotland, the south The average nsed is that for the period 1881-1915, unless Stated otherwise.

Space‐Time Patterns of Meteorological Drought Events in the European Greater Alpine Region Over the Past 210 Years

“…We analyze a 210 year precipitation data set to explore drought event durations, intensities, severities, and frequencies. As would be expected, well‐known severe droughts rank highly in the results, such as the 2003‐event (Fink et al, ; Wetter et al, ), the 1921‐event (Brooks & Glasspoole, ), and the 1946‐event (Brázdil et al, ).…”

Old World megadroughts and pluvials during the Common Era

“…The great drought of 1921: On the basis of an evaluation of instrumental climate data not used to calibrate the OWDA, this drought was described as “a year of unprecedentedly small rainfall” over large parts of the British Isles, with the worst deficit occurring in southeastern England where London may have experienced its driest year since 1774 ( 14 ). The OWDA map for 1921 ( Fig.…”

Changing impacts and societal responses to drought in southwestern Germany since 1800

“…Cook et al (2015) made the same findings using tree-ring reconstructed summer wetness and dryness over Europe. As early as 1922, Brooks and Gkasspoole (1922) investigated the 1921 drought in Britain and found it to be one of the most extreme droughts that had occurred in Britain since the nineteenth century. The study of van der Schrier et al (2007) reveals that in some parts of the Alpine region, the winter 1921/1922 belongs to the three driest summers in this region (regarding moisture variability between 1800 and 2003).…”