The study, led by University of California-Los Angeles geographer Park Williams and published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that rapid intensification of the drought in the last several years has placed it into a rare category of severity.
The authors, using scientific reconstructions going as far back as A.D. 800, found that the soil moisture deficit recorded in the region between 2000 and 2018 was exceeded only once — by a megadrought in the late 1500s.
But due to the extremely dry conditions of last year, even that long-ago event has now been surpassed, they found.
Thanks to “exceptional drought severity” in 2021, the last 22 years have emerged as the driest 22-year period in the region since at least A.D. 800. And because the drought is “very likely” to persist throughout this year, the current drought will match the duration of the late-1500s megadrought, the researchers predicted.
Around 19% of last year’s extraordinarily dry conditions are attributable to human activities that promote climate change, they said.
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
