BUT IN MANY AREAS AROUND THE WORLD, THERE ISN’T ENOUGH WATER.
>> AS YOU KNOW BY NOW, CLIMATE
CHANGE CAN HAVE WIDE-REACHING
IMPACTS.
IMPACTS. YOU HEAR A LOT ABOUT FLUCTUATING
TEMPERATURES, RISING SEA LEVELS.
PLACES LIKE THE BAHAMAS AND
PUERTO RICO RECOVERING FROM
EXTREME AMOUNTS OF RAIN AND
FLOODING.
FLOODING. BUT AT THE SAME TIME OTHER AREAS
DON’T HAVE ENOUGH WATER.
IN PARTS OF INDIA THIS YEAR
PEOPLE WAITED IN LONG LINES FOR
SOME WATER AND HAD TO RATION
WATER FOR BATHING, COOKING AND
DRINKING.
DRINKING. IN THAILAND A DROUGHT BROUGHT
WATER LEVELS SO LOW THAT IT
REVEALED THE RUINS OF A BUDDHIST
TEMPLE.
TEMPLE. WE WENT TO THE EXPERTS AT NASA.
WHY DOES NASA CARE ABOUT
DROUGHTS?
DROUGHTS? >> MOST PEOPLE THINK OF NASA AND
SPACE AND ASTRONAUTS.
BUT A CORE PART OF THE MISSION
IS TO STUDY THE EARTH, THINGS
LIKE DROUGHTS, FLOODS, EXTREME
RAINFALL.
RAINFALL. >> I THINK WHEN A LOT OF PEOPLE
HERE IN THE U.S. THINK ABOUT
DRAUGHTS, THEY THINK ABOUT A
WEEKS WITHOUT RAIN.
>> DROUGHTS ARE REALLY ABOUT
WATER AND WATER IS ESSENTIAL FOR
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT BOTH
OUR SOCIETIES DO AND ALSO WHAT
ECOSYSTEMS NEED.
ECOSYSTEMS NEED. DROUGHTS ARE NOT REALLY JUST A
FEW WEEKS WITHOUT RAINFALL.
DROUGHTS CAN BE 20 YEAR LONG
EVENTS LIKE WE JUST ENDED IN THE
SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES.
OR IT CAN BE MULTI-YEAR EVENTS
LIKE THE RECENT DROUGHT IN
CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA. CLIMATE CHANGE IS PUSHING THESE
EVENTS INTO A SCALE THAT ARE
REALLY UNPRECEDENTED.
REALLY UNPRECEDENTED. WE’RE LOOKING AT DROUGHTS THAT
ARE MORE INTENSE, THAT ARE MORE
PERSISTENT THAN ANYTHING PEOPLE
HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH FOR MAYBE
THE LAST 200 YEARS.
>> IT SOUNDS LIKE IN SOME CASES
DROUGHTS AREN’T CAUSED BY
CLIMATE CHANGE BUT ARE
INFLUENCED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.
>> THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.
DROUGHTS ARE A NORMAL FEATURE OF
NATURAL VARIATIONS IN THE
CLIMATE SYSTEM.
CLIMATE SYSTEM. WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE CAN DO IS
MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE LIKELY
THOSE NATURAL VARIATIONS WITH
SLIDE INTO DROUGHT OR IF A
DROUGHT DOES OCCUR, CLIMATE
CHANGE MEANS THAT DROUGHT MIGHT
BE A BIT MORE SEVERE, A BIT
DRIER.
DRIER. >> IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR
CALIFORNIA’S DROUGHT OFFICIALLY
ENDED AFTER MORE THAN SEVEN
YEARS.
YEARS. JUST LAST MONTH, TEXAS SAW A
FLASH DROUGHT, ONE THAT
DEVELOPED MUCH MORE RAPIDLY THAN
NORMAL.
NORMAL. ONLY 1% OF THE STATE WAS
EXPERIENCING DROUGHT CONDITIONS
IN MAY.
IN MAY. BUT BY MID AUGUST THAT NUMBER
JUMPED TO 65%.
WE’RE HEARING ABOUT A LOT OF
WATER PROBLEMS IN THE WESTERN
UNITED STATES AND TEXAS.
FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIVE THERE,
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE ON THE
GROUND?
GROUND? >> THE DROUGHT IMPACTS CAN BE
MINOR INCONVENIENCES OR
POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING
POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES.
CONSEQUENCES. IT CAN MEAN THINGS LIKE IN
INCREASED WATER RESTRICTIONS,
WATER SAVINGS.
WATER SAVINGS. YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO WASH
YOUR CAR OR WATER YOUR LAWN.
ON A LARGER SCALE IT MEANS
IMPACTS ON FARMERS.
IT MEANS FARMERS MIGHT NOT HAVE
ENOUGH WATER TO GROW CROPS AND
PRODUCE REVENUE AND FOOD
PRODUCTION.
PRODUCTION. IN SOME CASES IT CAN MEAN BIG
IMPACTS ON LIVESTOCK.
THEY USE LANDS TO GRAZE THAT
MAYBE ARE NOT PRODUCING ENOUGH
FORAGE.
FORAGE. THOSE IMPACTS CAN REALLY CASCADE
BEYOND THOSE LOCAL REGIONS
BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE NOT GROWING
AS MUCH FOOD AND FOOD PRICES ARE
LIKELY TO GO UP.
>> IS THERE A DROUGHT THAT’S
ALREADY OCCURRED THAT YOU AND
YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE PRETTY
CONFIDENT WAS INFLUENCED BY
CLIMATE CHANGE?
CLIMATE CHANGE? >> SEVERAL.
>> SEVERAL. THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT, IT’S
PRETTY CLEAR THAT CLIMATE CHANGE
PLAYED A BIG ROLE IN MAKING IT
AS INTENSE AS IT WAS.
RECENT DROUGHTS IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN AND THE MIDDLE
EAST, THE DROUGHT THAT OCCURRED
RIGHT BEFORE THE SYRIAN CIVIL
WAR, THE DROUGHT IN CAPETOWN
ALL OF THESE DOUGTROUGHTS HAVE A CLEAR SIGNAL.
CLEAR SIGNAL. >> THE SAD TRUTH IS, YES, THERE
ARE SOME SPECIFIC STEPS YOU CAN
TAKE TO MITIGATE THE AFFECTS OF
DROUGHTS, BUT BIG CHANGE WILL