Dry conditions at the surface in the continental United States are mirrored underground in many places.
Published Jul 24, 2014
The GRACE satellites can detect the movement and depletion of water supplies at and below Earth’s surface.
Published Sep 20, 2012
In mid-September 2015, water stored near the surface and underground in the U.S. West was far-below-normal.
Published Sep 18, 2015
The failure of the summer monsoon and other moisture carrying systems has parched more than 90 percent of some states.
Published Aug 13, 2020
By late February 2018, an estimated 55 percent of the continental U.S. was classified as abnormally dry.
Published Mar 2, 2018
A new web tool designed by NASA applied scientists could help the tribe anticipate and respond to drought.
Published Apr 20, 2020
Long-term rainfall deficits, heat waves, and increased evaporation have depleted some of the groundwater supply beneath central and eastern Europe.
Published Jun 25, 2020
Though a series of winter storms provided some relief, a pair of satellites operated by NASA shows that groundwater supplies remained unusually low in many parts of the country.
Published Jan 19, 2013
More than 64 million people are directly affected by drought in the Southwest and Southern Plains, and far more are indirectly affected because of the vast number of farms, orchards, and ranches that supply the rest of the United States.
Published Nov 27, 2014
While autumn rains offered some relief to Northern California, drought still reigns in the southern part of the state.
Published Nov 16, 2016
The U.S. Drought Monitor reports its lowest levels in 17 years.
Published May 5, 2017
Temperatures across much of the region in 2018 have been well above the norms, while precipitation has been well below—a recipe for struggling farmers and concerned forest fire managers.
Published Jun 12, 2018
Drought conditions in 2018 are extreme over the Four Corners region of the United States.
Published Nov 8, 2018
A new map reveals the extreme depletion of groundwater in Texas and other parts of the southern United States due to drought.
Published Dec 1, 2011
Twin satellites are assessing the state of soil moisture and groundwater on the continent and around the world.
Published Apr 6, 2020
Groundwater supplies are decreasing across much of the world.
Published Nov 1, 2013
Reservoirs, lakes, and mountainsides are brimming with water and snow, though scientists caution that underground aquifers are a long way from having the same bounty.
Published Apr 21, 2017
Severe to extreme drought persists in the Southwest and the Plains in May 2014.
Published May 13, 2014
Kansas wetlands dry out across two rain-scarce summers.
Published Oct 7, 2012
Analysis of Landsat and MODIS data showed where agricultural production was affected by long-term drought in California.
Published Jan 30, 2015
Dark brown squares mark fields that would ordinarily support irrigated crops in California’s Central Valley in this vegetation image. In 2009, a lack of water meant that the crops were not growing well or the fields lay fallow.
Published Aug 16, 2009
The typically green valleys and snow-covered mountains of California have grown dusty after three years of drought.
Published Jul 18, 2014
North Island vegetation shows signs of stress during one the region’s most severe droughts on record.
Published May 7, 2020
A severe drought in Thailand is affecting agriculture and drinking water in the region.
Published Feb 15, 2020
A dry summer is giving farmers in the Northeast one of their toughest seasons in years.
Published Sep 13, 2016
After four years of shrinking due to drought, the largest reservoir in California got a much-needed boost from El Niño-fueled winter precipitation.
Published Apr 7, 2016
New maps show the fluctuating river and lake levels in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Published Jul 16, 2016
Most of Texas is brown in this vegetation index image, revealing the negative impact drought had on plants in August 2009.
Published Aug 12, 2009
Eastern Australia has been hit particularly hard by drought, taking a toll on the region’s soil moisture and agriculture.
Published Aug 9, 2018Image of the Day Land Water Drought Human Presence Remote Sensing
Satellite imagery shows reservoirs still perilously low in the midst of Brazil’s rainy season.
Published Mar 7, 2015
An arid region grew even drier between 2003 and 2009 due to human consumption of water for drinking and agriculture.
Published Mar 13, 2013
