Drought

The 2022 harvest is wrapping up in Colorado, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Federal Agriculture data shows more than 90 percent of corn, sorghum and sunflowers – the very last crops to be brought in from the fields – were all at least 90 percent harvested last week.That means it’s time for farmers to take stock.

The Center for American Progress published a pair of reports this month highlighting funding challenges for rural areas in the context of climate resilience, offering recommendations for how decision-makers can better design federal programs to be more inclusive of rural communities as disasters like wildfires and floods become more frequent.

The National Centers for Environmental Information released its national climate report for September, indicating that the month's national average temperature was 68.1 degrees Fahrenheit — the fifth warmest September in the 128-year record.

It's that time of the week when we check in with our colleagues at the Colorado Sun to find out more about the local stories on their radar. Sun Editor Larry Ryckman spoke with KUNC's Beau Baker about some of the news they're reporting this week.

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.

“We're trying to make it easy for non-experts to find and use decision-relevant federal data to map and understand their exposure to climate-related hazards,” says Tom DiLiberto, a climate scientist at the NOAA Climate Program Office.

Fall will likely be hotter and dried than usual, according to a new long-term outlook.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a massive wildfire and drought response bill last week mostly along party lines. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. The package comprises more than 40 previously introduced bills. It would authorize $500 million for forest management projects, including prescribed fire, and it would pump another $500 million into the Interior Department's efforts to "reduce the near-term likelihood of Lake Mead and Lake Powell declining critically low water elevations."

How can there be historic flooding when there is also a historic lack of water?

Colorado River water managers are facing a monumental task. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has asked seven western states to commit to an unprecedented amount of conservation and do it before a deadline later this summer. This comes amid shrinking water levels in the nation's largest reservoirs.