Low Water Levels Are Causing Barge Backups on the Mississippi River
Low water levels are making it difficult to ship goods down the Mississippi River and allowing a wedge of saltwater to move upstream. In the…
Drought News
Satellite Images Reveal a Rough Year for Rice in California
The ongoing drought has cut rice acreage in the Sacramento Valley in half. Normally the largest rice-growing region in California, the Sacramento Valley produces hundreds…
Parched Poyang Lake – China’s Largest Freshwater Lake Dries Out
China’s largest freshwater lake drained by prolonged heat and drought. Between the winter and summer seasons, Poyang Lake, in China’s Jiangxi Province, routinely fluctuates in…
Lake Powell Still Shrinking – The Second Largest Reservoir in the US at Lowest Level Ever
The second largest reservoir in the United States now stands at its lowest level since it was filled in the mid-1960s. Lake Powell, the second-largest…
Drought Causes Yangtze – China’s Most Important River – To Dry Up
A record-breaking drought has caused parts of the Yangtze River to dry up – affecting hydropower, shipping routes, limiting drinking water supplies, and even revealing…
Rhine River – Europe’s Second-Largest River – Runs Dry
Water levels on the Rhine River, Europe’s second-largest river, have continued to fall due to soaring temperatures and lack of rainfall. The low water levels…
Utah’s Great Salt Lake Is Disappearing – Megadrought Persists Across the US Southwest
Utah’s Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest recorded water level last month as a megadrought persists across the US southwest. This has forced the…
Lake Mead Keeps Dropping: Water Levels Are at Their Lowest Since 1937
Water levels in Lake Mead are at their lowest since April 1937, when the reservoir was still being filled for the first time, continuing a…
Po River – The Longest River in Italy – Dries Up
The Po River, the longest river in Italy, is hitting record low water levels after months without heavy rainfall. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 animation above shows…
Dwindling Water Levels of Lake Powell Seen From Space – Second-Largest Man-Made Reservoir in the US
After decades of drought, water levels in Lake Powell, the second-largest human-made reservoir in the United States, have shrunk to their lowest level since it…
NASA Researchers Untangle Puzzling Patterns of Sinking and Rising Land To Monitor Underground Water Loss
Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation. Scientists have…
New Research Reveals What Plants Need To Withstand Drought
Rising temperatures affect the plants that agriculture — and we —depend on. New research sheds light on how plants resist drought. All life forms have…
Scientists Warn of Severe and Widespread Drought in the 21st Century
Drought is among the most damaging natural hazards in the world, often causing severe losses to agriculture, ecosystems, and human societies. Historical records of precipitation,…
Dry Rice: Cracking the Core Physiological and Molecular Traits of Drought-Tolerant Rice
Study links gene expression patterns to traits that improve drought tolerance in rice plants. For many smallholder farmers in South and Southeast Asia, rice is…
Flash Floods Swamp Iran: Burst of Rain Causing Problems After Months of Severe Drought
After months of severe drought, a burst of rain is causing problems. For much of 2021, drought gripped southern Iran, parching crops, drying wells, and fueling protests over…
“Extreme” Drought Affecting Agricultural Lands in the Northern Great Plains
Warm and dry conditions continue to affect agricultural lands in the U.S. Northern Plains and the Canadian Prairies. Decades of drought across the U.S. Southwest has led…
Lake Powell – The Second Largest Reservoir in the United States – Reaches New Low
Water levels at Glen Canyon Dam have fallen to their lowest level since 1969 and are still dropping. As North America approaches the end of…
Strategies To Meet Future Water Demands and Improve Drought Resiliency Identified in Upper Missouri River Basin Study
The Bureau of Reclamation released the Missouri River Headwaters Basin Study that provides options to meet the increased water demand and a change in the…