Drought-stricken California is suffering from one of the state’s worst water shortages of the past century, one that could hit the agricultural industry hard financially.

The current drought is responsible for the greatest water loss ever seen in California agriculture, according to a July 2014 study released by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Researchers project that the drought will likely inflict agricultural industry losses reaching a staggering $2.2 billion. This number reflects the statewide costs of the drought on the agriculture industry, including the loss of 17,100 farm-related jobs. The study also notes that the drought has forced at least five percent of irrigated cropland to go out of production in the state’s Central Valley, Central Coast, and Southern California.

“When considering the West as a whole, we are currently in the midst of a historically relevant megadrought,” explains bioclimatologist Park Williams, a professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in New York. He illustrates the severity of the situation, stating, “More area in the West has persistently been in drought during the past 15 years than in any other 15-year period since the 1150s and 1160s.”

Alarming new research by Cornell University, University of Arizona, and U.S. Geological Survey researchers warns that the current drought situation could get much worse. The new research shows that the likelihood of a megadrought–one lasting more than 30 years–is much more possible than previous computer models predicted.

Photo: Gabriel Millos

TAG California, Drought

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