Extended and more severe droughts are expected to plague the southwestern United States and Central America by the end of this century, reported CBS News. These droughts will be worse than anything that’s occurred in the last 1,000 years.
According to a report published in Science Advances, research scientists predicted that the Great Plains and American Southwest will be the most affected by “persistent” and dangerous “mega-droughts” by the end of this century. CBS News noted that such phenomena have contributed to the decline of several centuries over the course of history. These findings are very alarming and should be properly heeded.
“The story is a bit bleak,” said Jason E. Smerdon, a co-author and climate scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Even when selecting for the worst mega drought-dominated period, the 21st century projections make (those) mega droughts seem like quaint walks through the Garden of Eden.”
Using data from the North American Drought Atlas, a catalogue of recreated droughts over the last 2,500 years, scientists were able to predict where our planet was headed. After applying 17 different climate models, they produced two possible scenarios; one with the current trends, and one if mankind aggressively acted in slowing climate change.
This video released by NASA shows a visual rendering of what areas will be affected by these impending mega-droughts.
“The surprising thing to us was really how consistent the response was over these regions, nearly regardless of what model we used or what soil moisture metric we looked at,” said lead author Ben Cook of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “It all showed this really, really significant drying.”
NASA verified that the current drought is affecting 64 million people in the Plains and Southwest. If we continue on this current trend, then many more will eventually become affected by the growing droughts, said NASA.
Our climate and planetary well-being are on a collision course for disaster. If we don’t act soon, then every living organisms’ way of life stands to be greatly threatened and damaged by climate change.
