Three years ago, climate researchers shocked drought-weary Californians when they revealed that the American West was experiencing its driest 22-year period in 1,200 years, and that this severe megadrought was being intensified by global warming.
Now, a UCLA climate scientist has reexamined the data and found that, even after two wet winters, the last 25 years are still likely the driest quarter-century since the year 800.
”The dryness still wins out over the wetness, big time,” said UCLA professor Park Williams.
The latest climate data show that the years since 2000 in western North America — from Montana to California to northern Mexico — have been slightly drier on average than a similar megadrought in the late 1500s.
Williams shared his findings with the Los Angeles Times, providing an update to his widely cited 2022 study , which he coauthored with scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.