Report says Arizona getting drier

PHOENIX, April 6 (UPI) -- The new report on climate change says rising temperatures may create conditions not seen in Arizona and the Southwest since the 1930s Dust Bowl.

The report, published in the journal Science, says Arizona's 12-year-old drought may reflect the new climate for the Southwest, the Arizona Republic reported.

Researchers from several universities and the National Center for Atmospheric Research used models dating as far back as 1860 and found that all but one pointed to the conclusion the Southwest will turn drier, perhaps as soon as 2040.

"It's important for Americans to realize we're not going to escape the big impacts, whether it's more hurricanes and sea-level rise in the East or drought here in the West," Jonathan Overpeck, director of the University of Arizona's Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, told the newspaper. "These things are going to challenge business as usual and quality of life. This should be a wake-up call."