Two-thirds of the US is facing unusually dry winter weather or drought.
This season has seen record-low snowfall and warm conditions across the West, bad news for the ski industry, but also for the months ahead. Water supply relies on snowmelt, and wetter landscapes reduce fire risk.
The US is not alone. The UN warned that three-quarters of people worldwide face water shortages, water contamination, or drought, as they use more than their annual allowance of rainwater and snowmelt, draining their groundwater supplies, a condition the report calls “water bankruptcy.”
For better or worse, the immediate US problem may be short-lived: A winter storm is due this weekend, with meteorologists warning of “crippling amounts” of snow and freezing rain.
