drought

People have called the Rio Grande a main artery, delivering life-giving water to and through our arid state. But year-after-year we see the river continuing to dry – and the ecosystems, communities, and industries that depend upon it are drying up too. On the next “Let’s Talk New Mexico” we’ll discuss the poor health of the Rio Grande and what’s at stake as it shrinks.

On the heels of extreme weather events, like New Mexico’s devastating 2022 fire season, lawmakers are aiming to establish a public health program and climate resiliency fund to address health related issues in rural communities. This week, that bill has cleared its first hurdle in the Roundhouse.

University of Arizona researchers forced a drought on a controlled rainforest environment to measure the scented gasses released by stressed plants. Their results could help scientists "sniff out" when forests are in distress.

While much of New Mexico has seen a sizable monsoon season, which may continue through the end of the month, drought experts say it hasn’t made a huge impact. And it’s expected to dry up and warm up through the fall and winter.

Weeds. Cannabis Consulting is testing several hundred plants in central New Mexico to see which cannabis strains can best tolerate heat and drought. They hope the experiment will help cannabis farmers throughout the West grapple with drought and climate change.

Introduced by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, the bills aim to improve water data nationally and facilitate better water management across the Rio Grande Basin.

The KUNM News Department is continuing to update these lists with resources related to the fires in NM, including the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak

If it doesn’t snow again in Denver soon, this will be the city's shortest snow season on record. And Denver's dearth of snow reflects a more consequential climate trend – the Mountain West's shortening season for accumulating mountain snowpack.

In this episode we talk with Dr. Matthew Wilks about his work volunteering with Team Rubicon in Ukraine. And we revisit an interview with journalist Laura Paskus about climate change in New Mexico.

Increasing drought and tree mortality rates are causing forests in the American Southwest to die earlier and quicker –– which can add fuel to devastating wildfires.