'Megadroughts' Could Dry Out US by End of Century

Scientists from the Earth Institute at Columbia University said if the United States does not take drastic steps to fight climate change by decreasing the use of fossil fuels, the country will experience a series of long-lasting megadroughts later this century.

Researchers predict that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at current levels, megadroughts lasting more than 35 years will have 80 percent chance of occurrence by the end of the century. Megadroughts will bring unprecedented drought conditions across the Southwestern and Central parts of the United States.

Megadroughts will bring down the agricultural industry and cause severe water shortages. The infamous Dust Bowl, a period of severe dust storms that ravaged across the United States and Canadian Prairies during the 1930s, will seem like a nice warm week in July compared to the future megadroughts that would be hotter and last for several decades.

If the world chose to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions by taking aggressive actions to reduce the effects of climate change, scientists said that droughts will still occur, but on a much-lesser scale.