Western Canada prairies parched

CALGARY, Alberta, June 20 (UPI) -- The driest conditions in decades have prompted eight municipal districts and counties in Alberta, Canada, to declare drought disasters, officials said.

Dry conditions have persisted in about 80 percent to 90 percent of Alberta as well as in the Saskatchewan and the Peace River areas of British Columbia, the Calgary Herald reported Saturday.

A cool spring combined with dry conditions could reduce crops by 20 percent in the southern prairie wheat-growing belt, the Canadian Wheat Board has said.

The region is experiencing its driest conditions in a half-century, Environment Canada said.

Dry conditions in Alberta and western Saskatchewan are especially alarming because June is normally the wettest month, said David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada.

"We may know the outcome of this growing season in the next week if they don't get any rain," he told the Herald.

The rainy season typically runs through late June or early July.

In the past decade, Alberta has had more consecutive dry years than at any time since 1961, said Ralph Wright, a soil-moisture specialist with Alberta Agriculture.

Norman Storch, a farmer, blames climate change for the drought.

"I think this is what we can come to expect: extremes," Storch told the Herald.