“An intense drought is gripping the American West. Extreme conditions are more widespread than at any point in at least 20 years, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the government’s official drought-tracking service,” The New York Times.
This is now beyond drought conditions. What we see here is aridification: the progression of an area experiencing normal rainfall and occasional droughts, as seen in the bottom map, to gradually more frequent droughts, and then becoming increasingly dry, as indicated at the top map.
Aridification can last for decades or be permanent.
