Drought drags on

last updated 8 January 2015

Las Vegas

The West is suffering its worst drought in 400 years, with no relief in sight, according to a report released last week. The flow in the Colorado River is barely half what it was in the 1930s, during the Dust Bowl. Government geologists said the drought, which began in 2001, was as bad or worse than the region’s worst ever, which hit from 1590 to 1594. Las Vegas, the nation’s fastest-growing metropolitan area, is preparing to declare a drought emergency by year’s end if, as expected, the water level in Lake Mead falls to its lowest level in 40 years. Governors from 18 states met in Santa Fe to discuss how to confront the threat of wildfires, dwindling water supplies, and scorched crops.