--- description: If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase title: 'Megadroughts' Could Devastate Southwest U.S. Within a Century image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt106354473c9adaf4/69876f4835ba6fa4bdc06051/nasa-california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Environment](/tag/environment/) ## Environment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Megadroughts' Could Devastate Southwest U.S. Within a Century by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 9:25 PM CUT  NASA GRACE satellite data reveal the severity of California’s drought on water resources across the state. This map shows the trend in water storage between September 2011 and September 2014. NASA GRACE satellite data reveal the severity of California’s drought on water resources across the state. This map shows the trend in water storage between September 2011 and September 2014.NASA JPL by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 12, 2015 9:25 PM CUT Droughts like the one California is experiencing are only going to get worse over the course of the century and could devastate some central and western parts of the U.S., according to a new [NASA](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/february/nasa-study-finds-carbon-emissions-could-dramatically-increase-risk-of-us/#.VN0OCD46Up8 "undefined") study. Using data from 17 climate models, scientists were able to project that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, there is a significant risk of severe droughts in the Southwest and Central Plains between 2050 and 2100\. Reductions in rainfall and increased temperatures will lead to drier soil, according to their models, causing “megadroughts,” which could last between 30 and 35 years, according to the report published Thursday in the journal _Science Advances_. Typically, droughts last about 10 years. But if emissions continue to increase throughout the 21st century, there’s an 80% chance of “megadrought” events worse than any in the past 1,000 years, researchers said. “Natural droughts like the 1930s Dust Bowl and the current drought in the Southwest have historically lasted maybe a decade or a little less,” said Ben Cook, a NASA climate scientist and lead author of the study in a [statement](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/february/nasa-study-finds-carbon-emissions-could-dramatically-increase-risk-of-us/#.VN0OCD46Up8 "undefined"). “What these results are saying is we’re going to get a drought similar to those events, but it is probably going to last at least 30 to 35 years.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/"},"headline":"'Megadroughts' Could Devastate Southwest U.S. Within a Century","datePublished":"2015-02-12T21:25:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:23:45.555Z","description":"New study warns of dry consequences if greenhouse emissions continue to rise","url":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/","keywords":["Environment","climate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt106354473c9adaf4/69876f4835ba6fa4bdc06051/nasa-california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt106354473c9adaf4/69876f4835ba6fa4bdc06051/nasa-california-drought.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"California Drought NASA","caption":"California Drought NASA","creditText":"NASA JPL","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/","name":"'Megadroughts' Could Devastate Southwest U.S. Within a Century"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How California’s Drought Will Affect Your Wallet","description":"A drought in California means higher grocery prices for Americans","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/e4k4jpdG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-17T15:11:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/e4k4jpdG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/","duration":"PT1M21S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3708059/drought-california-megadrought/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```