Arctic lake drainage events (1984-2020)

Lake drainage events can cause large-scale drying in the Arctic, affecting hydrology, ecosystems and permafrost carbon dynamics. Over 35,000 lake drainage events between 1984 and 2020 were identified, with approximately half being previously overlooked non-thermokarst lakes. Here, lake drainage events refer to those that involve lakes with an initial area of >1 ha and a loss of >50% in area.