'Hot droughts' are becoming more common in the arid West, new study finds

Hotter than normal temperatures are exacerbating the megadrought that's depleted Western water reserves, like Elephant Butte Reservoir in southern New Mexico, new research finds. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Take a period of limited rainfall. Add heat. And you have what scientists call a 'hot drought' – dry conditions made more intense by the evaporative power of hotter temperatures.

A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, Wednesday, finds that hot droughts have become more prevalent and severe across the western U.S. as a result of human-caused climate change.