Mega-drought 'spells disaster for Southwest'

Today on KTAR.com, senior sustainability scientist and Arizona State University climatologist Randy Cerveny discussed the current and future state of the drought that's crippled the Southwest for the past 15 years.

Cerveny said the Southwest last experienced an extreme 20-25-year drought in the 1500s. Now, we are getting closer to that year benchmark.

Reporter Jim Cross mentioned that decreasing snow fall and faster snow melts only make matters worse. Researchers say aspen trees are increasingly dying and more forests are becoming victims of bark beetles.

"The critical thing we've seen over the past 15 years is the drought. That has driven the changes we're seeing in the biosphere. Particularly in the forests of the southwest," Cerveny said.

Cerveny is also a President's Professor in ASU's School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.