Climate Change Is Threatening The U.S. West's Water Supply

Short Wave

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4.7 • 6.5K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2021

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

The past year has been the driest or second driest in most Southwestern U.S. states since record-keeping began in 1895. Climate Correspondent Lauren Sommer reports that farms and cities have begun imposing water restrictions, but the water supply will shrink no matter what the weather brings. The supply spans tens of millions of people and the farmland that produces most of the country's fruits and vegetables. As a result, the people who manage the West's complex water systems are realizing that with climate change, they can no longer rely on the past to predict the future.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to shortwave from NPR.
0:04.6	Hey, everyone.
0:06.6	Emily Quang here with NPR Climate Correspondent Lauren Summer.
0:09.8	Hey, Lauren.
0:10.8	Hey there.
0:11.8	Hey, hey.
0:12.8	So summer technically just started, but it seems like the drought in the Western US is
0:17.8	already really extreme.
0:19.8	Oh, yeah.
0:20.8	Yeah.
0:21.8	There are some scary numbers, I'm sorry to say.
0:23.7	Here I go.
0:24.7	Almost half the population of the country is facing dry conditions.
0:28.1	70% of the West is in severe drought already.
0:32.7	Several states like California and Arizona had their driest year since record keeping
0:37.4	began in 1895.
0:40.9	Wildfire risk is really high.
0:42.4	I get keep going here.
0:43.8	This is very, very worrying.
0:46.0	Everything you're saying, especially when you put it in a big list like that.
0:48.7	Yeah, it really is.
0:50.4	And as you might imagine, it's already leading to some difficult conversations.
	...

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