Intensifying Calif. drought sets off alarms

Doyle Rice,
USA TODAY
Date: 5:50 a.m. EDT March 18, 2015
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/03/17/california-western-drought/23953599/

As California’s epic drought continues with no end in sight, it is setting off new alarms about unprecedented water shortages, increased wildfire threats, fewer crops and farmers, higher electric bills and huge economic losses for years — or even decades — to come.

“Even if normal precipitation begins to fall, it will take a few years to overcome the massive deficits we’ve been running,” said scientist Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a research organization in Oakland.

California and much of the West must cope with the consequences of a drought predicted to intensify in coming months. The negative impact is sure to deepen. Scientists predict megadroughts will set in by mid-century.

 

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