Climate change is affecting various regions of the Earth. A recent report shows that warming temperatures due to these changing patterns may be amplifying the effects of droughts in California.
Professor Noah Diffenbaugh from Stanford University, who led the research, says that drought occurrences in California have increased in the past two decades compared to the past several centuries. Diffenbaugh blames rising temperature for the frequent number of droughts in California.
The latest study observed the role of temperature in California droughts for the past 120 years. The scientists also observed the influence of carbon dioxide emissions due to human activity on global warming. They analyzed global warming as part of California's past, present and future.
The worst droughts in the state of California occurred when weather conditions were dry as well as warm. The study claims that the incidence of warm and dry weather is occurring due to global warming. The researchers suggest that in the near future it is highly likely that California will experience low precipitation with increased temperatures.
"Of course, low precipitation is a prerequisite for drought, but less rain and snowfall alone don't ensure a drought will happen. It really matters if the lack of precipitation happens during a warm or cool year," says Diffenbaugh. "We've seen the effects of record heat on snow and soil moisture this year in California, and we know from this new research that climate change is increasing the probability of those warm and dry conditions occurring together."
The study found that low precipitation and high temperature were not a common coincidence in the early or mid-20th century. The researchers also learned that years that were both dry and warm were twice more likely to experience droughts.
The condition may deteriorate even further in the coming decades. The study is important as it highlights the impact of global warming on droughts, which can have severe economic and social costs. Drought usually reduces the water levels in an affected region, which may affect the ecology.
Drought may result in low crop yield and destroy the habitat of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Severe drought may also lead to wildfire, which may in turn lead to the death of humans and wildlife.
Global warming is producing different effects on different areas. A previous report showed how global warming has resulted in the increase of floods in Midwest America, which has its own drawbacks.
The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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