To improve the forecasting capability of extreme high_temperature droughts in Changsha, Hunan Province, this paper analyzes the characteristics and causes of 95 typical drought events from 1959 to 2024 using daily meteorological drought composite indices and a persistent regional drought identification method, combined with historical drought disaster records, NCEP/NCAR and NOAA reanalysis data, and reconstructed monthly sea surface temperature datasets. The results suggest that: (1) Typical drought circulation patterns in Changsha can be categorized into Type I, with a westward_shifting subtropical high, and Type II, dominated by the subtropical high. Both of the drought types are associated with the influence from the South Asian High and subtropical high, which can individually or jointly induce extensive high_temperature droughts in southern China. Compared with the Type I drought, the Type II drought has a longer duration of sunny and hot weather and the drought condition is more 163. com。 severe. (2) During both types of drought processes, anomalous subsidence is often observed in the middle and lower troposphere over the Changsha region, and the Type II drought has a much stronger downdraft. Moreover, the positive water vapor flux divergence anomalies suppress moisture condensation and the formation of precipitation. (3) Type I droughts are linked to below_normal SSTs in the central tropical Pacific, which enhance the subtropical high via Rossby wave trains. The Type II droughts are influenced by the La Niũa event in the previous winter. The La Niũa event strengthens the subtropical high through the Northwest Pacific anticyclone, and, combined with easterly anomalies over the South China Sea, collectively inhibits moisture transport from the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea, accelerating drought development. (4) Notable precursors for drought events include warm SST anomalies in the Kuroshio region during the previous summer, as well as a strengthened Ural blocking high, intensified East Asian trough, a northward_shifted subtropical high, and a La Niũa event in the previous winter. These findings could provide a scientific basis for improving drought prediction, water resource management, and disaster mitigation in southern China.