<p>Drought propagation time is an important factor reflecting the development and spread of drought conditions. Evaluating and predicting drought propagation time can provide a better understanding of the evolution and characteristics of drought. However, the analysis of drought propagation time is not fully discussed especially for crops which are frequently experienced drought disaster as the root zone soil moisture are easily affected by meteorological conditions changes. In this study, we applied the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model with the aim of investigating the effects of climate change on drought patterns and propagation time in Jiangxi Province, a typical humid region and agricultural province with monsoon climate located in the southern China. Our results show that, compared to the patterns from 1970 to 1990, soil moisture deficits occurred more frequently from 2000 to 2020 in response to higher temperatures. The drought-affected area is increased by 5.42% from 1970s to 2000s. The average propagation time from meteorological drought to the root-zone soil moisture (SM) deficits in Jiangxi Province was 5 days in 1970–1990 and 6 days in 2000–2020. For such a humid watershed, temperature and SM had a stronger impact on the propagation time than the precipitation, and global warming-induced temperature changes likely triggered flash droughts during 2000–2020. In summary, this study offers a quantitative evaluation of the impact of climate change on interconnected water budgets and drought dynamics based on a hydrological model. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for water resource management and the prediction of extreme hydrological events for crops of humid region.</p>