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November 3, 2022

Reaching New Levels in Groundwater Monitoring

As regions around the world face record-breaking droughts, scientists are using seismology to track groundwater levels, showing that well-managed pumping strategies have a big impact.

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July 20, 2021

NASA Images Hone in on California’s Severe Drought

California’s reservoirs are rapidly drying up and the water level in Shasta Lake — the largest reservoir in the state — has dipped to about 35% of its capacity. The L.A. Times spoke to WWAO about how the drought looks from space.

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July 7, 2021

NASA Strengthens Our Resilience to Drought

In the face of severe west-U.S. drought, NASA has launched a new page highlighting its eyes on the drought, which are helping track and monitor the ongoing drought, predict how much water will be available, and improve how we use the water we have.

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June 18, 2021

California Reservoirs Reflect Deepening Drought

Four years after California emerged from a severe multi-year drought, the state’s precipitation and lake levels are among their worst since the 1970s. The deepening drought is seen in satellite images of the state’s two largest reservoirs.

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June 15, 2021

Western Soils And Plants Are Parched

For the second year in a row, drought has overtaken much of the U.S. from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. Our Crop-CASMA soil moisture data portal, jointly developed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reflects the dry times.

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January 14, 2021

2020 Was Warmest Year on Record

2020 was a rough year for planet Earth, and NASA found it was the hottest on record. Our warming planet fanned the flames of extreme wildfires, drought and hurricanes.

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December 14, 2020

The Drying U.S. West

A serious drought has flared up across half of the United States, with about a third of the country suffering from extreme or exceptional drought. This familiar story has been playing out for the past two decades.