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Drought

Arizona grapples with balancing growth and a limited water supply

by Megan Myscofski
Sep 15, 2022
On of the state's major sources of water, the Colorado River, has fallen to historic lows.
Rancho Sahuarita has grown fast, and its water utility has had to grow quickly with it.
Megan Myscofski/Arizona Public Media
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Food is more expensive because it's getting more expensive to make food

by Sabri Ben-Achour
Sep 14, 2022
Farmers are paying more for equipment and supplies. Drought in the Great Plains has hurt corn and wheat. The Ukraine war also plays a role.
Extreme drought has hurt corn production in the U.S. this year.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
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How much water is in plants? The answer can be critical to forecasting wildfires.

by Madelyn Beck
Sep 13, 2022
"Fuel moisture" drives wildfires, and the metric can be used to better allocate firefighting resources.
Taylor Zarifis of the Bureau of Land Management in Boise, Idaho, plucks live leaves off sagebrush to measure fuel moisture levels.
Madelyn Beck/Mountain West News Bureau
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A Warmer World

Climate change is impacting the Panama Canal — and the trade that moves through it

by Grace Livingstone
Sep 5, 2022
Officials are searching for a way to increase the flow of water without disrupting the environment and Panamanian society.
Freighters enter the Panama Canal on the Atlantic side. As droughts and storms become more common, the canal needs to find fresh sources of water and new ways to store it. 
Searagen/Getty Images
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How drought zaps electricity production and could raise prices

by Andy Uhler
Aug 18, 2022
Coal, natural gas and nuclear plants need water to make the steam that moves turbines, and as a cooling agent.
When power demand peaks, hydropower can be used to meet that demand in short order. Drought conditions make this difficult. Above, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, which was at its lowest level since the 1930s in July.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
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Outdated water infrastructure amplifies drought problems for a small Wyoming city

by Caitlin Tan
Jul 26, 2022
Rawlins is replacing miles of leaky pipeline that's more than 100 years old. Some of the original piping is made of wood.
A creek in the Sage Creek Basin area outside Rawlins, where the natural spring that supplies the city is located.
Caitlin Tan/Wyoming Public Radio
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A Warmer World

The climate crisis comes for outdoor tourism

by Savannah Maher
Jun 23, 2022
A historic drought and massive wildfire have hurt the outdoor tourism industry in the Southwest United States.
Longer, more intense wildfire seasons are hurting towns in the southwest U.S. that rely heavily on tourism. Above, trees scorched by the Canyon Fire near Mora, New Mexico, on June 2.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
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A Warmer World

Feds tell Western states to cut back on water from Colorado River — or else

by Savannah Maher
Jun 23, 2022
"This is scary stuff," one researcher tells us.
Historic drought has brought water levels down to record lows on the Colorado River, seen here on March 28.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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U.S. Forest Service is short thousands of firefighters amid pay raise delay

by Nova Safo
May 10, 2022
With a pay raise funded by the infrastructure bill stuck in bureaucratic morass, the agency is struggling to staff up to the full force it needs.
Many firefighters have sounded alarms about crews and forests being critically short-staffed, even as they prepare for what is expected to be another challenging summer.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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A Warmer World

Wildfires in April signal growing costs of climate change

by Savannah Maher
Apr 26, 2022
What to do when fuel for fires seems infinite, but resources to fight fires is decidedly finite?
As the risk for wildfires rises, small cities struggle to find the resources to combat them.
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