A report published last week in Science Advances predicts extended and severe drought for the American Southwest and central Great Plains. The analysis says the drought will be the worst in nearly 1,000 years with drying even more extreme than previously predicted. According to the study, the drought period is expected to begin between 2050 and 2100.
The lead author is Benjamin Cook, a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. He and his colleagues reached their conclusion by comparing 17 different computer projections of 21st century climate with drought records of the past millennium.
SDSU Extension climate field specialist Laura Edwards joined Dakota Midday and discussed the study and what it could mean for South Dakota.
You can read the report here.