"Historically, #drought in the West has been caused by lack of precipitation, and evaporative demand has played a small role. #ClimateChange caused by the burning of fossil fuels has resulted in higher average temperatures that complicate this picture. While drought-induced by natural fluctuations in rainfall still exist, there's more heat to suck moisture from bodies of water, plants and soil."

phys.org/news/2024-11-climate-…

Climate change is contributing to drought in the American West even without rainfall deficits, scientists find

Higher temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change made an ordinary drought into an exceptional drought that parched the American West from 2020–2022.

^{Holly Ober (Phys.org)}