Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the country’s ongoing drought a national disaster, with more than $2 billion needed to feed millions. Malawi and Zambia made similar announcements earlier this year, as an El Niño-fueled drought thrust southern Africa into a humanitarian emergency. Mnangagwa told reporters in Harare that this year more than 2.7 million […]
The estimated number of monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico for winter has reached its second-lowest level ever for the 2023 to 2024 overwintering season. The estimate, based on the size of the butterflies’ hibernating forest area, has dropped by about 59% from the previous year, according to officials. Experts are pointing to extensive heat and […]
An intense drought has led to a 36% decline in traffic for the Panama Canal, one of the most important maritime trade routes in the world. Officials have denied ship crossings 36% as the canal has decreasing water levels from the drought, The Associated Press reported. According to Ricaurte Vásquez, the administrator of the Panama […]
Last year was the hottest year on record by a wide margin, and 2024 has a one-in-three shot at being even hotter, according to the Annual 2023 Global Climate Report by the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scientists from the European Union found that Earth’s average temperature last year was 1.35 degrees […]
In a unanimous vote, the California State Water Resources Control Board has approved its first standards for converting sewage waste into drinking water that can be piped directly into the taps of households and businesses. It’s a historic moment for a state plagued by drought and water shortages. “A city produces wastewater during a drought, […]
Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors has voted for a plan to improve stormwater capture, with a goal of capturing more stormwater for local reuse rather than importing water from other regions. The L.A. County Water Plan aims to increase the local water supply by 580,000 acre-feet per year by 2045 so that 80% of […]
Earlier this week, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released the United States’ Fifth National Climate Assessment, an overview of the effects climate change is having on the country. The main message of the assessment is clear: Every part of the country will experience weather extremes due to climate change. “There is not a part […]
The U.S. has released its fifth National Climate Assessment report, which outlines how the country is addressing climate change, major climate risks and actions by region and how climate change is already impacting the country. The report found that both new and existing risks are impacting every part of the U.S., while some regions may […]
Quick Key Facts What Is a Drought? A meteorological drought is when there is a severe lack of precipitation in a given area for a notable amount of time. But as the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska explains, whether or not an area is experiencing a drought is “in relation to […]
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