drought

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

In One State, Drought Has Led to 'Firmaggedon'

Oregon saw 1.1M acres of dead firs in 2022

(Newser) - Drought across the nation, especially in the West, has affected produce , homeowners' water use , and power production . But in Oregon, there's a new problem that's cropped up from the ultra-dry conditions: a historic tree die-off, in which surveyors found 1.1 million acres of dead firs in 2022....

No, That's Not a Desert— That's the Mississippi River

Drought, record-low water levels are mucking up ship routes and commerce along trade super-route

(Newser) - Every year, 589 million tons of freight moves up and down the Mississippi River, which CNN deems "America's most important trade waterway." But you may need to take "water" out of that description along many sections of the route, as a historic drought has caused the...

In Texas, Drought Exposes Dinosaur Footprints

River has dried up in Dinosaur Valley State Park

(Newser) - In Europe, drought has exposed medieval " hunger stones " that warn of hard times ahead when river levels are low. In Texas, drought has exposed dinosaur tracks. Dinosaur Valley State Park says a river bed has dried up, exposing 113 million-year-old dinosaur tracks that were covered in water and...

Unprecedented Drought Leads to 'Rare Opportunity'

Scientists rush to study 'Spanish Stonehenge,' ancient rock circle emerging as water levels drop

(Newser) - "Spanish Stonehenge" is back. The Dolmen of Guadalperal, a circle of 150 stones in Caceres believed to be about 7,000 years old, was purposely submerged underwater in 1963, part of Spain's efforts to build the Valdecanas reservoir. Over the years, the rocks occasionally peeked out when weather...

As US Dries Up in Drought, Farmers' Hands Are Forced

America's farmers are having to kill off their own crops, sell cattle earlier than usual

(Newser) - In 2021, nearly a quarter of America's farmers said they had to kill their own crops because drought conditions had made the environment so dry that the crops were never going to mature. Things haven't gotten any better since: This year, 37% of the nation's farmers say...

Amid Worst Heat Wave Ever, China Shoots Rods Into Clouds

Silver iodide rods intended to spur precipitation

(Newser) - China is experiencing its worst heat wave on record, a two-month-plus streak that's seeing hundreds of cities and counties experience temps of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. But this extreme weather isn't just causing bodily discomfort. It's helping to dry up the Yangtze River, one of the...

Cows Can't Eat Parched Grass, So We Don't Get Special Cheese

Production of unique Salers cheese halted due to drought in France's Auvergne region

(Newser) - If the grass in your yard goes a little dry over the summer, it's no big deal. In France's central Auvergne region, however, those parched parcels, a result of the nation's current drought, are wreaking havoc on the making of a centuries-old cheese. The Guardian reports on...

Europe's Drought Is Probably Worse Than You Think

Rivers are drying up and farmers are suffering in dry spell that is the worst in centuries

(Newser) - From dry and cracked reservoirs in Spain to falling water levels on major arteries like the Danube, the Rhine, and the Po, an unprecedented drought is afflicting nearly half of the European continent, the AP reports. It is damaging farm economies, forcing water restrictions, causing wildfires, and threatening aquatic species....

Activists Fill Golf Holes With Cement

French environmentalists angry that courses get watering exemption amid drought

(Newser) - Golf just became much more difficult at two courses in southern France—environmental activists plugged holes with cement, reports the BBC . A group known as Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility, saying it makes no sense that golf courses get an exemption from watering amid a severe drought. The activists say the...

Farmers Who Raise Cattle Facing a Fraught Question

Shell out the money for feed, or sell?

(Newser) - Much has been written about the impact of heat on humans in recent weeks. But for humans who raise cattle, it's a double whammy. CNN describes things at "a boiling point for farmers and ranchers," who are dealing with the extreme drought conditions that are plaguing some...

Great Salt Lake Sees a Historic Low, Again

Water level drops to 4,190.1 feet, after it matched 170-year-old record just this past October

(Newser) - The Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year as the ongoing megadrought worsened by climate change continues to shrink the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. The Utah Department of Natural Resources said Monday in a news release...

Drought Ruins Crops, Shuts Off Milan's Fountains

Archbishop visits area to pray for rain

(Newser) - The mayor of Milan signed an ordinance Saturday turning off the spigots of public decorative fountains, and the city's archbishop prayed for rain in a tour of churches as northern Italy endures one of its worst droughts in decades. The city ordinance follows the declaration Friday of a state...

'Unprecedented Measures' Brought In Amid Calif. Drought

LA residents can only water outdoors for 8 minutes a time, 2 days a week

(Newser) - California is taking tough steps to ration water amid a megadrought so severe that even ancient trees haven't experienced anything as bad before. On Wednesday, more than 6 million people in Southern California were placed under unprecedented restrictions cutting outdoor watering days to one or two a week, the...

At Critical Reservoir, a Tangible Sign of Trouble

Intake valve at Lake Mead is fully exposed for first time in its history

(Newser) - Lake Mead has hit a new low. For the first time, water levels at the man-made reservoir have dropped low enough to expose one of three original intake valves, CNN reports. The valve has been drawing water since 1971—but that's no longer possible, according to the Southern Nevada...

UN Warns 350K Children Could Die in Drought by June

In Somalia, some 1.4M under age 5 are malnourished

(Newser) - "The situation cannot be more dire," said Adam Abdelmoula , a UN humanitarian official. Unless something is done quickly about the drought in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula said, "350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country will perish." The drought is Somalia's...

West's Water Crisis May Be Worse Than You Think

'We are looking down the barrel of a loaded gun,' says one expert

(Newser) - The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which provides 30% of California's fresh water, is at its lowest level in seven years—a devastating sign of drought conditions to come. The end-of-winter snowpack measurement—which comes from measurements at more than 265 sites across the state, taken annually on...

US Megadrought Is Worst We&#39;ve Seen in 12 Centuries
On Parched American West,
a Dire 'Wake-Up Call'
NEW STUDY
Feb 15, 2022 11:02 AM CST

On Parched American West, a Dire 'Wake-Up Call'

Study says megadrought is worst in 1.2K years, a 'worst-case scenario' due to climate change

(Newser) - The American West's megadrought deepened so much last year that it's now the driest in at least 1,200 years and is a worst-case climate change scenario playing out live, a new study finds. A dramatic drying in 2021—about as dry as 2002 and one of the...

See Images of &#39;Ghost&#39; Village Resurfacing in Spain
'Ghost' Village Resurfaces
Amid Drought in Spain
photo gallery
Feb 14, 2022 9:35 AM CST

'Ghost' Village Resurfaces Amid Drought in Spain

Aceredo was deliberately flooded 30 years ago, but dry weather is exposing it once again

(Newser) - A drought in Spain has created an inadvertent tourist attraction. People are visiting the site of a former village—Aceredo—that was deliberately flooded 30 years ago to create a reservoir, reports the AP . However, that reservoir is now extremely low, allowing people to walk among formerly submerged houses in...

At Least 6 Boaters Killed by Falling Wall of Rock
10 Boaters Killed by
Falling Wall of Rock
UPDATED
Jan 10, 2022 12:01 AM CST

10 Boaters Killed by Falling Wall of Rock

Victims were below a cliff face that sheered off above Brazil's Furnas Lake

(Newser) - Update: The cliff collapse in Brazil killed 10 people, only one of whom had been identified by Sunday afternoon, as 68-year-old retiree Julio Borges Antunes. All victims and survivors have now been accounted for, and two people remain hospitalized, the New York Times reports. At least 27 others were treated...

Denver Without Snow in December: It's 'Unheard Of'

City could log 2nd-longest period without snow within days

(Newser) - Never in recorded history has Denver entered December without logging some snowfall—until now. The city, which has yet to receive its first measurable snow (more than a tenth of an inch) of the 2021 winter season, has blown past its previous record for the latest first snowfall set on...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser