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Megadrought Webinars
Impact of Anthropogenic Warming on an Emerging North American Megadrought 
Key Takeaways

  • 2000-2018 had the driest 19-year average summer soil moisture on record for the southwestern North American study region.
  • 2000-2018 soil moisture followed a trajectory similar to the onset of the medieval megadroughts, but the megadroughts were longer.
  • The researchers estimate anthropogenic climate trends account for 47% of the 2000-2018 drought severity. Uncertainty is high due to poorly understood precipitation and vegetation processes.
Coming Up Next!
Coping With Megadrought in the
Colorado River Basin

Wed, May 27, 2020 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

As the Colorado River Basin experiences 2020’s “sneaky drought” amid a long term pattern that looks increasingly like one of the region’s millennial “megadroughts” that last decades, water managers are working on ways to adapt. Where are we seeing success, and which communities are vulnerable as climate change continues to eat away a river on which 40 million people depend?

Presenter:
John Fleck, Director, University of New Mexico Water Resources Program
For additional information contact  NIDIS