Climate change is having a devastating effect on dry areas of the world having begun to influence global drought risk more than a century ago. Models predict that droughts will become more frequent and severe as temperatures rise, potentially causing food and water shortages, extinction, human health impacts, destructive wildfires and conflicts between peoples competing for resources. They project a new round of severe megadroughts, resulting in the driest period in 1,000 years for parts of the U.S., with droughts becoming more frequent and severe.
This is occurring as 2023 is reported as the hottest year on record. The World Health Organization calls it “off the charts."
The 5th National Climate Assessment notes that “Drought risk is complex and changing” and that since 2011, California has experienced one of its most severe and widespread droughts since record-keeping began in 1895.Additionally, drying soil and longer lasting droughts in the Southwest, one of the hottest and driest regions in the world, may be due to warming temperatures, as warm air increases evaporation and transpiration. 40% of the severity of the 2000-2021 megadrought in the Southwest can be attributed to climate change. Rivers worldwide dried up at the highest rate in three decades in 2023, which we are also experiencing here. Since 2000, the Colorado River has been experiencing reduced streamflow due to increased evaporation, less reflected sunlight and less snowfall.
Besides reducing climate change, sustainable water management strategies such as regenerative agriculture and forest restoration are important to reduce drought risk.
The United States Drought Monitor updates their maps every Thursday and Climate Central has an informative page with graphics and videos.
09/16/26
The contiguous United States experienced its warmest June-August on record in 2026, accompanied by below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures that sustained widespread drought, now covering nearly half the country. These extreme conditions fueled a destructive…
08/18/26
The area with the highest rainfall amounts this past week was primarily a wide band from Nebraska east to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Totals over 5 inches were observed in central Illinois…
01/10/25
Overall, when integrated across the nation and across the entire year, 2024 was the warmest year on record while precipitation was the highest for the nation since 2019 . This was a year of extremes…
11/21/24
More November rain (and some snow) led to more drought improvement in the Central U.S., especially in the Plains, South, and Midwest. However, much of the Eastern U.S. worsened for the second week in a…
10/05/22
Western Central Europe, North America, China, and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere faced water shortages, extreme heat, and soil moisture drought conditions throughout the summer of 2022
09/26/22
The U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) categorizes drought in a region according to soil moisture, streamflow, and precipitation levels. Regional designations can vary and are primarily based on historical weather patterns. Drought can adversely affect many…
07/03/22
Disappearing Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona Border
06/06/22
Climate Change Response Program Natural Resource Stewardship and Science. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior. of glaciers and ice sheets. And of those that remain, most are shrinking at an accelerated rate. These…
05/21/22
Global warming is expected to enhance drought extremes in the United States throughout the twenty-first century. Projecting these changes can be complex in regions with large variability in atmospheric and soil moisture on small spatial…
05/11/22
The report, an authoritative compendium of drought-related information and data, helps inform negotiations of one of several decisions by UNCCD’s 196 member states, to be issued 20 May at the conclusion of COP15.
05/10/22
Climate change is a major contributor to the prolonged and intensifying drought that has impacted the western US since early 2020, as well as the underlying megadrought that has been ongoing since 2000.[1] Rising temperatures…
03/09/22
A 22-year megadrought has made the Western United States the driest it has been since at least the year 800, according to a new study. A megadrought is essentially a prolonged drought that lasts for…
08/06/19
While the term may bring to mind the windswept sand dunes of the Sahara or the vast salt pans of the Kalahari, it’s an issue that reaches far beyond those living in and around the…
09/11/19
The U.S. Drought monitor is an overview of drought types and drought impacts updated weekly based upon a combination of sources.
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