The Arizona desert is the latest testing ground for climate change.

The study by a University in southern England says no research had been done to date that examines climate change in dryland regions, where short, sharp rainstorms are the dominant source of rain. University of Bristol scientists analyzed more than 50 years of detailed data from a semi-arid drainage basin in southeastern Arizona.

Lead author, Michael Singer says in drylands, where short, intense rainfall controls water supply, there was a drop in the intensity of storms over the period, despite an increase in total rainfall over the same years. He says that pattern change is evidence of climate change in deserts. The study was published in ScienceDaily.

Other scientific research suggests that global warming causes heavier rainfall because a hotter atmosphere can hold more moisture and warmer oceans evaporate faster feeding the atmosphere with more moisture.