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A devastating drought has spread virtually throughout the western United States, setting a record 122 years, scientists say.
Almost 90 percent of the region is now considered to be in drought.
CALIFORNIA, FISH MORTALITY IN FLORIDA LINKED TO DROUGHT, CLIMATE CHANGE
The US Drought Monitor – a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the US Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – reports that more than 60 million Americans are currently affected by the drought.
A multi-agency webinar discussing the state of drought and response efforts in the region took place on Tuesday, hosted by the National Integrated Drought Information System.
The webinar included remarks from USDA and Home Office officials, as well as an update from NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, who said the persistent drought is costing US $ 63 billion. per year, in addition to the multibillion dollar losses due to forest fires.
It’s a crisis that Spinrad says will only get worse – citing the June heatwave over 1,000 years – because climate change worsens the frequency, duration and intensity of droughts.
David Simeral, a climatologist at the Western Regional Climate Center, blamed the general lack of precipitation and rising temperatures, along with more than 20 years of drought in the West, for creating the current crisis.
Lake Mead, NV – June 28: An aerial view of the effect of droughts at Hemenway Harbor, Lake Mead, which is at its lowest level in history since it was filled 85 years ago on Monday June 28, 2021. The ongoing drought has made a severe impact on Lake Mead and a milestone in the Colorado River crisis. High temperatures, increased contractual demands for water, and diminished supply are reducing the flow of Lake Mead. Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States, spanning 112 miles in length, a shoreline of 759 miles, a total capacity of 28,255,000 acre-feet, and a maximum depth of 532 feet. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Above normal temperatures are expected to continue in the western and northern plains through the fall, with below normal precipitation “moderately favored” for this season as well.
Jon Gottschalck of the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center also noted that climatic conditions in La Niña could also reappear during the fall and winter months of 2021 to 2022.
Warning of the growing risk of devastating forest fires, Nick Nauslar of the Bureau of Land Management said the fuel drought was already ahead of schedule and typical of peak fire season.
As firefighters scramble to repel the flames of the more than 80 fires burning across the country, critical tanks remain at below normal levels across much of the West – residents are reportedly resorting to theft of water and agriculture industry in dire straits.
Lake Mead, which is a resource for tens of millions of people in California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico, has been measured at just 35% infill: its lowest level since filling 85 years ago .
THE GREAT SALT LAKE OF UTAH FALLS TO RECEIVE A LOW, LAKE MEAD ALSO IN CRISIS AMID THE DROUGHT
that of Utah The Great Salt Lake has plunged into what some call a “historic” trough.
California regulators will vote next month on an “emergency cutback” order that would prevent thousands of farmers from drawing water from the state’s major rivers and streams due to the drought.
The Golden State grows more than a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts, with exports totaling $ 21.7 billion. Farms and ranches received more than $ 50 billion in cash receipts for their production in 2019.
Family Farm Alliance executive director in 16 states, Dan Keppen, told Tuesday’s webinar that cattle ranches and dairy farms are liquidating herds, pulling up some crops to replace them with less water-intensive crops and leaving even the fallow fields.
Drought also has a significant impact on wildlife. The two Californians endangered Juvenile winter-rewind chinook salmon and Montana’s famous trout populations have been identified as threatened by extreme drought and low river levels.
A dead chinook floats in a fish trap on the lower Klamath River on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 in Weitchpec, Calif. Historic drought and low water levels on the Klamath River threaten the existence of fish species along the 257 mile long river. (AP Photo / Nathan Howard)
The entire Navajo Nation, which rests in the heart of the Colorado River Basin, suffers from severe droughts. Bidtah Becker said the tribe was forced to buy more expensive electricity due to the reservoir’s poor supply.
Becker said a well supplying livestock users in the western area of the reserve was out of service and users began drawing potable water, ultimately forcing rationing.
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“So the drought is very real. The drought is very, very real here in the Navajo Nation,” Becker said.
“Drought doesn’t just impact a community – it affects us all, from farmers and ranchers to townspeople and tribes,” Home Secretary Deb Haaland said Thursday at a roundtable in Denver. Colorado Water Center. “The Biden-Harris administration is taking action to support affected communities, while making significant investments that will help us manage our shared resources wisely in the West.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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