Severe drought in western U.S. cuts irrigation water for farmers and ranchers
Much of the Western half of the United States is in the grip of a severe drought of historic proportions. Conditions are especially bad in California and the Southwest, but the drought extends into the Pacific Northwest, much of the Intermountain West, and even the Northern Plains. Irrigation water needed by farmers and ranchers has been limited or shut off. But scientists say that climate change, in the form of warming temperatures and shifts in precipitation, is making the situation worse. What would be a moderate drought in a world without warming is now more severe.