Are Decades-Long Megadroughts on the Horizon?

California has been locked in a four-year drought that has depleted groundwater reserves, hastened the spread of wildfires, and caused severe crop loss. Reporting in Science Advances, researches say that by the end of the century, the Southwest and Central Plains regions are at risk of experiencing a megadrought—a drought that lasts for multiple decades. Climatologist Jason Smerdon discusses how climate change might be pushing us towards a drier future.