droughts

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You May Want to Hoard That Olive Oil in Your Pantry

Drought, high temps in Spain are wreaking havoc on crops, driving olive oil prices to 26-year high

(Newser) - If you're on a Mediterranean diet kick, you might want to be judicious with how much olive oil you use in your meals. That's because the monthslong drought and sweltering temps in the Mediterranean, especially Spain, have dried out olive trees, causing prices to spike and a looming...

In One State, Drought Has Led to 'Firmaggedon'

Oregon saw 1.1M acres of dead firs in 2022

(Newser) - Drought across the nation, especially in the West, has affected produce , homeowners' water use , and power production . But in Oregon, there's a new problem that's cropped up from the ultra-dry conditions: a historic tree die-off, in which surveyors found 1.1 million acres of dead firs in 2022....

Unprecedented Drought Leads to 'Rare Opportunity'

Scientists rush to study 'Spanish Stonehenge,' ancient rock circle emerging as water levels drop

(Newser) - "Spanish Stonehenge" is back. The Dolmen of Guadalperal, a circle of 150 stones in Caceres believed to be about 7,000 years old, was purposely submerged underwater in 1963, part of Spain's efforts to build the Valdecanas reservoir. Over the years, the rocks occasionally peeked out when weather...

As US Dries Up in Drought, Farmers' Hands Are Forced

America's farmers are having to kill off their own crops, sell cattle earlier than usual

(Newser) - In 2021, nearly a quarter of America's farmers said they had to kill their own crops because drought conditions had made the environment so dry that the crops were never going to mature. Things haven't gotten any better since: This year, 37% of the nation's farmers say...

Amid Worst Heat Wave Ever, China Shoots Rods Into Clouds

Silver iodide rods intended to spur precipitation

(Newser) - China is experiencing its worst heat wave on record, a two-month-plus streak that's seeing hundreds of cities and counties experience temps of 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. But this extreme weather isn't just causing bodily discomfort. It's helping to dry up the Yangtze River, one of the...

Cows Can't Eat Parched Grass, So We Don't Get Special Cheese

Production of unique Salers cheese halted due to drought in France's Auvergne region

(Newser) - If the grass in your yard goes a little dry over the summer, it's no big deal. In France's central Auvergne region, however, those parched parcels, a result of the nation's current drought, are wreaking havoc on the making of a centuries-old cheese. The Guardian reports on...

Europe's Drought Is Probably Worse Than You Think

Rivers are drying up and farmers are suffering in dry spell that is the worst in centuries

(Newser) - From dry and cracked reservoirs in Spain to falling water levels on major arteries like the Danube, the Rhine, and the Po, an unprecedented drought is afflicting nearly half of the European continent, the AP reports. It is damaging farm economies, forcing water restrictions, causing wildfires, and threatening aquatic species....

'Unprecedented Measures' Brought In Amid Calif. Drought

LA residents can only water outdoors for 8 minutes a time, 2 days a week

(Newser) - California is taking tough steps to ration water amid a megadrought so severe that even ancient trees haven't experienced anything as bad before. On Wednesday, more than 6 million people in Southern California were placed under unprecedented restrictions cutting outdoor watering days to one or two a week, the...

US Megadrought Is Worst We've Seen in 12 Centuries
On Parched American West,
a Dire 'Wake-Up Call'
NEW STUDY
Feb 15, 2022 11:02 AM CST

On Parched American West, a Dire 'Wake-Up Call'

Study says megadrought is worst in 1.2K years, a 'worst-case scenario' due to climate change

(Newser) - The American West's megadrought deepened so much last year that it's now the driest in at least 1,200 years and is a worst-case climate change scenario playing out live, a new study finds. A dramatic drying in 2021—about as dry as 2002 and one of the...

What Drought? Still-Parched California Lifts Water Limits

The power to conserve now shifts to the hands of local communities instead of the state

(Newser) - It used to be you'd be heavily fined if you turned on your water too much or for an unapproved reason in parched California. Now many of those restrictions are about to be dismissed, with a reversal of the state mandate for a 25% drop in city water use,...

California's New Class Warfare: Drought Shaming

Snitching on water wasters goes viral as green lawns separate haves, have-nots

(Newser) - As California enters its fourth year of drought, with fines that the Los Angeles Times reports could range up to $10,000 for water wasting, citizens are taking to social media to not only rat on their neighbors but call out the state's wealthiest, some of whose magnificently manicured...

California in 'Worst Drought in 100 Years': Governor

Meteorologists predict drought will last at least 3 more months

(Newser) - Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for California today, over what the governor called "perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen" in the roughly 100 years the state has been keeping records. Brown asked all residents to voluntarily cut back their water usage by 20%. "...

In Steamy Midwest Streams, Scads of Fish Die Off

Hot, dry summer killing off thousands

(Newser) - Thousands of fish are dying in the Midwest as one of the hottest, driest summers in history dries up rivers and pushes water temps in some spots to nearly 100 degrees. About 40,000 shovelnose sturgeon died in Iowa last week as the water temp hit 97, while Nebraska fishery...

UN Scientist: Blame Extreme Weather on Climate Change

Dire warnings heard at first congressional hearing in two years

(Newser) - Get used to droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, and wildfires, scientists warned Congress today, because the extreme weather is a result of global warming. The comments were made to the Senate's environmental committee during the first hearing on the subject in more than two years, reports the Guardian . "There...

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