Scientists Issue Dire Warning Of US Megadrought That Could Last 35 YEARS And Lead To Mass Population Migrations

• Southwestern United States has fifty percent change of suffering a ‘megadrought’ that lasts 35 years
• Say California drought is ‘a preview of our future’
• Drought could be worst seen for 2,000 years 
• Could lead to mass population migration on a scale never before seen in this country 

By MARK PRIGG FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 18:34 EST, 27 August 2014 | UPDATED: 00:37 EST, 28 August 2014

Daily Mail

The southwestern United States has fifty percent change of suffering a ‘megadrought’ that lasts 35 years, scientists have warned.

They say they are ‘not optimistic’ of the chances of avoiding huge droughts.

They say global warming has meant the chance of a decade long drought is at least 50 percent, and the chances of a ‘megadrought’ – one that lasts up to 35 years – ranges from 20 to 50 percent over the next century.

The study by Cornell, University of Arizona and U.S. Geological Survey researchers will be published in a forthcoming issue of the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate.

‘For the southwestern U.S., I’m not optimistic about avoiding real megadroughts,’ said Toby Ault, Cornell assistant professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and lead author of the paper. 

‘As we add greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – and we haven’t put the brakes on stopping this – we are weighting the dice for megadrought.’

As of Aug. 12, most of California sits in a D4 ‘exceptional drought,’ which is in the most severe category. Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas loiter in a substantially less severe D1 moderate drought. 

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