A study on climate change has warned the southwestern United States is at an increased risk of devastating drought. Cornell University professor Toby Ault discussed the results on Monday.

Toby Ault: “The risk of a decade-long drought is normally about 50 percent, but with climate change it goes up to about 80 or 90 percent, according to our results. And for a multiple-decade-long drought, a megadrought, the risk is normally in the order of 5 to 15 percent, but with climate change it goes up to between 20 and 50 percent for a lot of the Southwest.”

California is in the midst of an epic three-year drought with more than 58 percent of the state deemed to be in “exceptional drought,” the most severe category possible.