The Anasazi, a once-flourishing tribe in the American Southwest, lived on bounties of corn, squash and beans. In 1276 A.D., however, a long, unforgiving drought made agriculture untenable, forcing them to migrate away from their settlements. Droughts, even the catastrophic ones, are not figments of the past. With changing weather patterns, droughts are predicted to become more frequent and intense, thereby exacerbating their impact on global agricultural systems.
