Background
One of the many dangers of global warming, according to climate alarmists, is the propensity for rising temperatures to produce (1) longer, (2) more frequent, (3) more severe, and (4) more expansive droughts. But is this oft-repeated claim correct? In the study of Andreadis and Lettenmaier, this question is addressed as it pertains to the conterminous United States.

What was done
The authors examined 20th-century trends in soil moisture, runoff and drought over the conterminous United States with a hydro-climatological model forced by real-world data for precipitation, air temperature and wind speed over the period 1915-2003.

What was learned
In the words of the two researchers, "droughts have, for the most part, become [1] shorter, [2] less frequent, [3] less severe, and [4] cover a smaller portion of the country over the last century."

What it means
It would seem to be nigh unto impossible to contemplate a more stunning rebuke of climate-alarmist claims concerning global warming and drought than that provided by this study of the United States. And as evidenced by the many materials archived under Drought in our Subject Index, much the same findings are being reported all around the world.