Annual precipitation in our region dropped by eight times more than in the West as a whole from 1976 to 2019. The total decline of 3.2 inches in the Southwest compared to 0.4 inches regionwide.
Farmers are heading into the spring planting season with drought covering a good portion of the western half of the country. A new study looking into the problem shows dry periods between rain have become longer in the West. It also says yearly rainfall has become more erratic across most of the western U.S. over the past 50 years.
According to a new study from UArizona researchers, average temperatures have increased, annual rainfall has decreased, and dry periods have become longer and more variable across the American West over the last 50 years.
For centuries, Indigenous peoples have worked to live in harmony with fire. Can integrating such cultural practices into contemporary wildfire management help prevent catastrophic wildfires?
Since November 2020, a group of local volunteers has worked to remove the garbage and invasive species surrounding the downtown reach of the Santa Cruz River in Tucson. Through their efforts, the group hopes to encourage the return of more native species to the urban ecosystem and foster stronger community connections to the river.
A new report examining more than 400 species of butterflies throughout the western United States has found that butterfly populations are declining at an estimated rate of 1.6% per year, and these declines are particularly associated with warmer autumns.
A little-discussed section in President Biden’s groundbreaking executive order on climate aims high. For the first time in federal policy, it pairs the urgent issues of leaking greenhouse gases with the creation of new jobs for energy workers and people who live in heavily-polluted neighborhoods.
