Evaporation a bigger threat than lack of precipitation

As bad as the current drought is, that may not be the biggest water challenge facing the state. “It’s going to get warmer, which leads to more evaporation and transpiration,” Johannes Feddema, a climatologist and chairman of the University of Kansas geography department, said at a recent symposium in Lawrence on the future of water in Kansas. The changing climate will require farmers and others to reduce their demand for water, symposium panelists said.