Arizona and Nevada are facing water shortages this year as Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, falls to its lowest ever level, with large swathes of the American west facing an increased risk of wildfires amid soaring temperatures and prolonged, severe drought, conditions that are amplified by rising temperatures and human-driven climate change.
Water levels at Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S. and a major water source for some 25 million people, sunk to the lowest levels since it was created by the Hoover Dam in the 1930s, officials announced Thursday.
The low levels will affect the dam’s electricity capacity and could prompt the first water shortage declaration from the federal government, which could cut water supplies to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico.
75% of the American west is experiencing severe drought—more than a quarter of this considered to be the highest level, “exceptional”—according to the U.S. drought monitor, adding to a long-running “megadrought” that has afflicted the region since the turn of the millennium.
Experts believe rising temperatures due to climate change are exacerbating the drying and contributing to heatwaves, creating the kind of conditions where it is hard to recover from drought conditions.
The dry conditions are leading farmers in the region to reconsider their crops and warn of food scarcity and higher prices, with some crops needing more water than is available in the arid conditions.
While drought and dry weather occur and vary naturally in the region, the increasing temperatures pushing the American west over the edge are human in origin and make the conditions more likely to occur. Scientists report the current drought to be one of the worst in the west in 1,200 years, something they attributed to human-driven climate change. According to experts, climate change has also made it more likely that any wildfires will be bigger and more intense.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox asked Utahns to pray for rain in early June after he had declared a state of emergency over the arid conditions in May. Cox said “divine intervention” was needed because “we need more rain and we need it now.”
‘Megadrought’ persists in western U.S., as another extremely dry year develops (National Geographic)