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Drought threatens California despite El Nino
United States
Photo: USA Today
Last winter, El Nino-driven storms dumped much-needed snow and rain over California, boosting reservoir levels and fueling hopes the parched state's four-year drought might end.
But despite the brief respite, experts say the record drought is here to stay.
The El Nino weather phenomenon—caused when a rise in the Pacific Ocean's temperature triggers intense precipitation—has provided only "a band-aid on a gaping wound," says Julien Emile-Geay, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Southern California.
In fact, restoring the state's water supplies to their pre-drought levels would require several years of intense rain and snowfall
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