Chronic 2000-04 drought, worst in 800 years, may be the 'new normal'
Sunday, July 29, 2012 - 15:00
in Earth & Climate
The chronic drought that hit western North America from 2000 to 2004 left dying forests and depleted river basins in its wake and was the strongest in 800 years, but those conditions will become the “new normal” for most of the coming century. Such climatic extremes have increased as a result of global warming.