Dry riverbed in California. (Photo : NOAA/Wikipedia)
A new study reveals evidence that global warming can force the western United States into the driest conditions in the last 1,000 years where higher temperatures can lead to extreme drought across the region.
The effects of climate change can be experienced across the world and this is not just caused by warmer air and weather but also evaporation rates and precipitation including rainfall that can be difficult to pinpoint what man made factors have contributed to the ongoing drought in California.
According to lead author of the study Park Williams from Columbia University, this new study can hopefully shed new light in finding solutions for ongoing climate change and its environmental repercussions such as California's drought.
To date, average temperatures in California have increased by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 113 years.
Researchers have conducted an analysis of climate data spanning the months of 1901 to 2014 where they discovered fluctuations in precipitation and humidity including wind conditions and temperatures.
The study has concluded that the ongoing drought in California is caused by the persistent ridge in high atmosphere temperature that is now blocking wetter weather conditions from entering the state, leaving the Central Valley parched.
Researchers also say that man made greenhouse gas emissions are now trapping more heat in the atmosphere making the drought 27 percent more severe.
Even if the drought is a primary outcome of natural climate variability, scientists believe that the drought is becoming more severe due to rising climate change. Drier months are to be expected during warm months since ice sheet melting has now increased even before snowpack has been formed.
Now, California's local officials are now imposing major water restrictions over the past four years that directly affects water usage of citizens and farming practices across the region.
Apart from natural weather cycles causing this historic drought, man made greenhouse gas emissions are intensifying the severity of the drought by raising air temperatures according to the study. This new study is published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters.
