Longer, drier droughts may be ahead for the Southwest and Central Plains if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, according to study released this month that included NASA-sponsored projections.
The longer droughts could be similar to drought experienced in the 1930s and current drought in the Midwest, but it will be as much as 30 to 35 years long, as opposed to lasting a decade or less, according to Ben Cook, climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.