Drought events are intensifying under climate change, creating mounting risks for crop production and rural livelihoods in dryland regions. Shaanxi Province experienced a record drought in the 2025 agricultural season, reported as the most severe in the past 75 years, causing major impacts on food production and farm income. We assessed drought impacts and the mitigation role of irrigation by integrating multi-decadal meteorological records (1950–2025), field soil-moisture profiles (0–200 cm; 80 sites), crop growth observations (plant height and vegetation index; n = 175), and a province-wide household survey (n = 1025; 511 field interviews and 514 online responses). Meteorological analysis shows significant long-term drying in Shaanxi, and 2025 exhibited sharp anomalies, with precipitation and shallow soil water content reduced by 31 % and 16 % relative to 2024, confirming a severe drought year. Field sampling indicates strong shallow desiccation: mean soil moisture at 0–20 cm was only 9.4 %, well below the Loess Plateau’s typical field capacity, while deeper layers (>20 cm) remained around 12 %, offering limited buffering. Crop growth responses were severity-dependent, with plant height and vegetation index reduced by 35 % under moderate drought and by 76 % and 52 %, respectively, under severe drought compared with normal years. Survey results reveal heterogeneous vulnerabilities: wheat was relatively less affected (28 % yield loss, ∼6180 RMB/ha), whereas vegetables and orchards experienced much larger reductions (48–51 % yield loss; 18,675–23,520 RMB/ha). Irrigation significantly mitigated losses, with well and drip irrigation reducing yield declines to 28 % and 19 %, respectively, versus 46 % under rainfed conditions. Overall, the results identify shallow root-zone desiccation as a primary constraint and show that unequal access to efficient irrigation drives unequal drought outcomes, supporting targeted water-management and crop adaptation strategies to strengthen drought resilience in dryland farming systems. • Multi-decadal drying peaked in 2025, with precipitation 31 % lower and shallow SWC 16 % lower compared to 2024. • Shallow root-zone desiccation dominated: 0–20 cm moisture averaged 9.4%, deeper layers ∼12%. • Cash crops were most vulnerable: orchards and vegetables lost 48–51%, wheat 28%. • Irrigation mitigated losses: 46% under rainfed vs 28% well and 19% drip irrigation.
Chen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.