Wildfires, heat, drought: What you need to know
Much of the western U.S. remains in the grip of an unrelenting drought. This dryness has coincided with record-breaking wildfires, intense and long-lasting heat waves, and western reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell now at their lowest levels ever recorded.
Following 2020 and 2021—the fifth and fourth hottest years on record in the United States respectively—2022 is on track to become one of the 10 hottest years worldwide. The western U.S. has also seen some of its most devastating wildfires in the past three years, including the Marshall Fire on Dec. 30, 2021, the most destructive fire in Colorado state history.
CU Boulder researchers offer insight into everything from how a changing climate will impact water supplies, crops and landscapes to how best to protect homes and our health from fire and smoke.