Abstract
Flash drought is a type of drought that develops rapidly, lasting for a short period of time, and is highly destructive. During its rapid intensification stage, it is usually accompanied by high temperature, high evapotranspiration, soil moisture decline, and precipitation deficit, thus causing significant damage to ecosystems and human society. Many attempts have been made to distinguish the phenomenon of flash drought from drought and to better understand the mechanisms of its generation. Since 2013, researchers have continued to refine and clarify the definition of flash drought in response to its characteristics, and have made many efforts to propose appropriate identification methods, classify the phenomenon of flash drought, identify the mechanism of flash drought generation, and improve the early warning capability of flash drought disasters. Despite this, researchers still do not have a clear and consistent system for identifying and classifying flash drought emergencies. In addition, some researchers have explored the spatial dynamics of flash drought propagation, hoping to better understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of flash drought.