drought

The last time a drought of this magnitude hit the American west, it was 800 A.D. Charlemagne was reigning as Holy Roman Emperor over in Europe. NBCLX climate storyteller Chase Cain shows you how climate change led to the current “megadrought” and how it is impacting farmers.

More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, but only 0.5% it is actually accessible to us. Removing salt from ocean water, known as desalination, can create drinkable water during a time of extreme drought and soaring demand. So what’s the problem?

A new U.N. report found that Americans can expect to see more wildfires in western states as a result of warming global temperatures.

Since 2000, Western states, including California and Oregon, have been experiencing a climate change-driven megadrought, the driest in 1,200 years. The lack of water has led to tension between Indigenous and farming communities. The Yurok Tribe, the largest federally recognized tribe in California, relies on coho salmon, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, to survive, while farmers have...

It’s been a long 2021 and it’s drawing to a close. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest local stories around Southern California from this past year.

Federal meteorologists say there’s another La Niña, which can be bad news for parts of the parched West.

The U.S. government has released projections that indicate an even more troubling outlook for a river that serves 40 million people in the American West.

The San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park uses about two million gallons of water a month. That may seem like a lot, but the team used to go through way more. The Giants now use 33% to 50% less water irrigating the field than they did before the historic 2014 California drought. Here’s how they learned to conserve.

From dusty towns to forests in the West, illegal marijuana growers are taking water in uncontrolled amounts when there often isn’t enough to go around for even licensed users

What do the World Series, access to water and microwaves have in common? Turns out, a lot. We try to find links between these seemingly unrelated items in our new series “Connect the Dots,” and we find them.

The Colorado River, which provides water for 40 million Americans, is facing a crisis, as climate change has caused its water levels to drop to unprecedented lows, triggering water cuts across the Southwest.  The river is one of the country’s longest — stretching for 1,450 miles, from the Rocky Mountains through the Southwest and into Mexico.  Human-induced climate change has…

The water level at Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border has hit a historic low amid a climate change-fueled megadrought engulfing the U.S. West

Scientists say there’s something different this year as the world staggers through another summer of extreme weather

Scientists say there’s something different this year as the world staggers through another summer of extreme weather.

Dozens of domestic wells have gone dry in an area near the Oregon-California border where the American West’s worsening drought has taken a particularly dramatic toll

Farmers, conservationists and small-town business owners are calling for an end to what they call wasteful uses of Colorado River water

Being water-wise doesn’t have to crimp your lifestyle— in fact, conserving water can be easy with small changes to your everyday routine. Here are five easy ways to cut back on your water use during a drought.

Some fireworks were seen Friday night despite the dry conditions and risk of starting a wildfire.

Extreme temperatures like the ones blistering the American West this week aren’t just annoying, they’re deadly

Drought conditions now cover 85% of Mexico