New doubt cast on link between global warming and increased drought

There have been devastating droughts in the past few years in places like Africa, Australia, and the US. Last summer, the drought in the central US caused the loss of massive crops and a major economic hit for the country. The seeming increasing relevance of droughts has some announcing the effects of climate change coming to friction.

However, a new study from researchers at Princeton University in New Jersey and the Australian National University in Canberra has cast doubt on this premise. Their work indicates that the development of drought is much more complex than formerly believed and that the recent droughts were more an aberration than an overall drying trend.