Skip to main content
Climate
Search

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
MIT

Main navigation

  • Climate 101
    • What We Know
    • What Can Be Done
    • Climate Primer
  • Explore
    • Explainers
    • Ask MIT Climate
    • Podcast
    • For Educators
  • MIT Action
    • News
    • Events
    • Resources
  • Search
PostMay 20, 2021

The American West is bracing for a hot, dry and dangerous summer

Water levels are running dangerously low in rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers across much of the American West, raising serious dangers of shortages, fallowed agricultural fields, and extreme wildfires in the coming months.

Monitoring stations across California’s Sierra Nevada range are registering some of the driest conditions on record for this point in the year. High spring temperatures already mostly melted away this winter’s light snowpack, which usually supplies about a third of the state’s water.

In New Mexico, where half the state faces “exceptional drought” conditions, water districts are delaying allotments to farmers and urging them to simply not plant crops if possible.

All told, nearly 85% of the West is suffering through drought conditions right now, according to US Drought Monitor. Almost half the region is now in an extreme or exceptional drought, following years of dry, hot conditions aggravated by climate change, writes James Temple for the MIT Technology Review.

Read the full article at: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/20/1025085/the-american-west-is-bracing-for-a-hot-dry-and-dangerous-summer/

Image credits: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

by MIT Technology Review
Topics
Food, Water & Agriculture
Weather & Natural Disasters
Drought
Heatwaves
Wildfires

Related Posts

PostJune 16, 2025

Lack of middleman between Illinois farmers and consumers limits market for ...

MIT Climate
A man laughs while carrying a white and green box that reads "farm fresh vegetables."
PostJune 13, 2025

A journey of resilience, fueled by learning

MIT Open Learning
Hilal Mohammadzai graduated from the MIT Emerging Talent Certificate in Computer and Data Science as part of his path to pursue a career in data science.
PostJune 12, 2025

Podcast episode: Digging into climate-smart dairy with Carolyn Beans

MIT Climate
A composite of two side-by-side images. On the left, a woman with a blue shirt smiles. On the right is the logo of the FarmHouse podcast: a flowerpot and a window, through which we can see a small building and windmill.
PostJune 11, 2025

A vision for transportation resilience in the energy transition

MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy
Rethinking resilience of low-carbon transportation

MIT Climate News in Your Inbox

 
 

MIT Groups Log In

Log In

Footer

  • About
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
MIT Climate Project
MIT
Communicator Award Winner
Communicator Award Winner