Drought | NOAA Climate.gov

smoke from Australia fires in satellite image

Catastrophic wildfires in southeastern Australia in 2019-20

January 3, 2020

Terrible wildfires raged through parts of southeastern Australia in the first days of 2020.

A conversation with Leander Anderegg: NOAA postdoc, tree physiologist, outdoorsman

December 19, 2019

This Q&A features tree expert Leander Anderegg and what he is learning about how some of the West's iconic trees—including Colorado's quaking aspen and California's blue oak—survive or succumb to drought.

Hot, dry summer and slow start to wet season primed California for November 2018 fires

November 16, 2018

Hot, dry and windy weather helped create the conditions needed for wildfires to explode in northern and southern California in November 2018.

Models warn of dustier summers in U.S. Southwest and Southern Plains, but Northern Plains may see fewer dust storms year round

June 25, 2018

Impacts of global warming on Great Plains summer rainfall and vegetation are biggest unknowns.

Wildfires break out in Oklahoma in April 2018

April 24, 2018

Extremely dry and windy conditions helped rapidly grow and spread wildfires across Oklahoma in April 2018.

Drought worsens across southern Plains and southwestern United States

February 21, 2018

A lack of precipitation across the southern and western United States has led to growing drought this winter.

A new NOAA tool is helping to predict U.S. droughts, global famine

January 4, 2018

Drought is about more than lack of rainfall. A new tool keeps track of another major player: how thirsty the atmosphere is.

Climate conditions aren’t solely to blame for current famine in Africa

April 10, 2017

In Africa, famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan while other areas in Somalia and Nigeria are highly food insecure. But the reasons go beyond climate factors.

State of the Climate 2015: Drought Rotater

2015 State of the Climate: Drought

August 2, 2016

2015 was a tough year for vegetation, both natural and agricultural, with a near-record area of global land surfaces in some state of drought.

Water Resources Dashboard

March 22, 2016

The Climate Resilience Toolkit's Water Resources Dashboard is a one-stop website for data and information on drought, flooding, precipitation, climate, and other water-related risks and opportunities.

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