drought

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Texas Drought Yields Dino Tracks, WWI Shipwrecks

'If I was ever going to find anything, this would be the best time to do it'

(Newser) - As of Monday, 79% of the state of Texas was in drought , with 12% in "exceptional drought." Those conditions, though challenging for residents, have the upside of revealing some remarkable finds. At Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, officials have uncovered at least 70 new dinosaur tracks...

Things Aren't Great at the Panama Canal Right Now

Ship traffic has been reduced due to drought

(Newser) - If drought in the Panama Canal region sounds like something that has no impact on you, think again. CBS News reports the lakes that feed the canal system are close to their minimum levels after an atypically dry season, and that's throwing a wrench into how much traffic the...

Silly String? Forest Service's Idea for Fourth Doesn't Land

Environmental groups question the alternative to fireworks, but like the bigger message

(Newser) - Smokey Bear's admonition that "Only you can prevent wildfires" remains, in a time of drought, as important to remember as ever. But it's equally true that only you can prevent forests from being covered with Silly String. US Forest Service managers in the drought-stricken Southwest are urging...

Phoenix, Short on Water, Limits New Construction

Officials in Arizona are worried about long-range problems with groundwater

(Newser) - Phoenix got a glimpse of its future on Thursday, and it does not appear to include the sort of multiplying development that has made it the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan region. Arizona officials announced that their analysis shows there is not enough groundwater to support all the housing construction proposed...

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...

Bad News on Great Salt Lake: 'This Is a Crisis'

Researchers say Utah lake could vanish in 5 years if excess water consumption isn't remedied

(Newser) - Since 2020, Utah's Great Salt Lake has lost about 40 billion gallons of water per year, a consequence of the West's megadrought and too much water consumption. Researchers say that stat shouldn't be ignored: If remedies aren't made, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere...

Heavy Rain Risks Flooding, May Top Off California Reservoirs

Atmospheric river heads for the state with downpours forecast through the weekend

(Newser) - California is facing days of heavy rainfall that could help its drought battle by replenishing reservoirs while risking flooding in much of the state. An atmospheric river of moisture is headed from the Pacific Ocean toward California and other Western states, AccuWeather reports. The results could include rainfall of 8...

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....

No, That's Not a Desert— That's the Mississippi River

Drought, record-low water levels are mucking up ship routes and commerce along trade super-route

(Newser) - Every year, 589 million tons of freight moves up and down the Mississippi River, which CNN deems "America's most important trade waterway." But you may need to take "water" out of that description along many sections of the route, as a historic drought has caused the...

In Texas, Drought Exposes Dinosaur Footprints

River has dried up in Dinosaur Valley State Park

(Newser) - In Europe, drought has exposed medieval " hunger stones " that warn of hard times ahead when river levels are low. In Texas, drought has exposed dinosaur tracks. Dinosaur Valley State Park says a river bed has dried up, exposing 113 million-year-old dinosaur tracks that were covered in water and...

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....

Activists Fill Golf Holes With Cement

French environmentalists angry that courses get watering exemption amid drought

(Newser) - Golf just became much more difficult at two courses in southern France—environmental activists plugged holes with cement, reports the BBC . A group known as Extinction Rebellion claimed responsibility, saying it makes no sense that golf courses get an exemption from watering amid a severe drought. The activists say the...

Farmers Who Raise Cattle Facing a Fraught Question

Shell out the money for feed, or sell?

(Newser) - Much has been written about the impact of heat on humans in recent weeks. But for humans who raise cattle, it's a double whammy. CNN describes things at "a boiling point for farmers and ranchers," who are dealing with the extreme drought conditions that are plaguing some...

Great Salt Lake Sees a Historic Low, Again

Water level drops to 4,190.1 feet, after it matched 170-year-old record just this past October

(Newser) - The Great Salt Lake has hit a new historic low for the second time in less than a year as the ongoing megadrought worsened by climate change continues to shrink the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi. The Utah Department of Natural Resources said Monday in a news release...

Drought Ruins Crops, Shuts Off Milan's Fountains

Archbishop visits area to pray for rain

(Newser) - The mayor of Milan signed an ordinance Saturday turning off the spigots of public decorative fountains, and the city's archbishop prayed for rain in a tour of churches as northern Italy endures one of its worst droughts in decades. The city ordinance follows the declaration Friday of a state...

'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...

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