August 24, 2017
For the first time in the 17-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor, the state of New Mexico showed up “D-nada,” meaning the map of drought conditions showed no color for the state. The last bit of D0, “abnormally dry,” which shows up as yellow, disappeared as of the Aug. 22 map.
August 17, 2017
The August edition of Dry Horizons features a new case study by MIT researchers that suggests large-scale infrastructure may not be the answer to drought. The team used Melbourne, Australia, as a case study. The city, which experienced a 12-year drought, built a $5 billion facility, but it was completed three years after the drought ended and has hardly been used since.
Through analysis and modelling, the MIT team determined smaller-scale, incremental additions to water infrastructure may make more sense for advanced countries.
The newsletter also features:
- A Union of Concerned Scientists report on how healthy soils help farmers fight back against flood and drought
- A SCIPP report on local drought management and how counties use nationally driven drought information to inform decisions
- A 10-year-old's Space Apps Challenge 2017 project called "Drop the Drought"
Read this month's edition here.
August 10, 2017
Drought persisted in the northern Plains in July. By the end of the month, the number of people experiencing drought had increased from 15.8 million to 21.3 million.