The West's historic snow drought could bring water shortages, wildfires

The western United States experienced a severe snow drought this year, threatening the region's water supply and potentially setting the stage for its wildfire season.

• Mar 21

Snow drought reaches record levels in West

While some parts of the U.S. have received unusually high levels of snow this season, certain western states like Colorado are seeing record lows. CBS News national environmental correspondent David Schechter joins with more.

• Feb 3
• 03:38

World is entering era of "water bankruptcy," U.N. report warns

Water sources are being depleted faster than they can be restored, according to a new report from United Nations researchers.

• Jan 21

Fall foliage colors muted in several regions due to drought

Leaf-peeping season has arrived in the Northeast and beyond, but weeks of drought have dulled this year's autumn colors and sent leaves fluttering to the ground earlier than usual.

• Oct 14, 2025

Researchers search for new sources of fresh water

Researchers are searching for fresh water in a place you would never expect it, by drilling hundreds of feet below the seafloor in the North Atlantic off the coast of Massachusetts. Dave Malkoff explains.

• Sep 12, 2025
• 02:15

Stark findings on recent droughts

Over the past two years, Earth has endured some of the most widespread and destructive droughts ever recorded, according to a new analysis by the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center and the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification. Mark Svoboda, director and professor at the center, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss.

• Jul 2, 2025
• 03:06

Either flooding or drought threaten most world heritage sites, U.N. says

From Yellowstone to the Garden of Eden, almost 75% of the world's heritage sites at risk of drought or flooding, U.N. warns.

• Jul 1, 2025

How drought is impacting giant sequoia trees

In our Eye on Earth series, we are walking among giants: ancient trees. The huge sequoia groves of California draw millions of tourists a year, but these forests are more than photo opportunities. They are longtime warriors in the battle against climate change. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.

• Nov 18, 2019
• 05:23

Eye on America: Small business issues

In Louisiana, we learn how a devastating drought has greatly diminished the area’s crawfish supply. Then in Ohio, we tour a small business that’s seeing promising results from a four-day work week model. Watch these stories and more on Eye on America with host Michelle Miller.

• Mar 23, 2024
• 21:29

Eye on America: A labor shortage and more

We visit a New York City construction site where women are filling in the gaps of a labor shortage. And we see first-hand how scientists in California and Utah are using beavers to help create wetlands in a dry zone. Watch these stories and more on "Eye on America" with host Michelle Miller.

• Sep 26, 2022
• 22:03

Eye on America: Innovative ranchers and more

Prolonged drought conditions in California are having profound impacts on cattle ranchers, but we introduce you to two cattlemen who are turning adversity into ingenuity. We also take a closer look at a vital program in Maryland that's helping young people connect with nature amid pandemic lockdowns. Watch these stories and more on "Eye on America" with host Michelle Miller.

• Feb 7, 2022
• 25:53

Extreme weather impacts the California fires

High winds intersecting with historic drought levels are contributing to the dangerous conditions that sparked the multiple fires raging in the Los Angeles area. Dr. Helen Holmlund, an assistant professor of biology at Pepperdine University, joins CBS News with more on the extreme conditions.

• Jan 8, 2025
• 04:47

Scientists say people hit with 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year

Researchers say human-caused climate change dealt people an average of nearly six weeks of extra extreme heat in 2024, while also fueling more destructive storms.

• Dec 27, 2024

U.N. talks fail to reach agreement regarding increased risks of global drought

The biennial talks, known as COP 16, attempted to create strong global mandates to legally bind and require nations to fund early warning systems and build resilient infrastructure in poorer countries.

• Dec 14, 2024

How severe weather could impact Christmas trees

Twenty to 30 million Christmas trees are sold every year, but droughts and wildfires have taken a toll. Lauren Pozen reports on how severe weather could impact the supply of live trees.

• Nov 30, 2024
• 02:09

New Jersey farmers struggle amid drought conditions

Before temperatures dip to single digits, the cranberry bogs at the Lee Brothers Cranberry Farm will have to be flooded to keep the fragile buds from drying out.

• Nov 27, 2024

New Jersey farmers face uncertainty amid drought

Before temperatures dip to single digits, the cranberry bogs at the Lee Brothers Cranberry Farm in South Jersey will have to be flooded to keep the fragile buds from drying out amid unprecedented drought conditions. Elaine Quijano explains.

• Nov 27, 2024
• 02:13

Officials: Fire risk still high in Northeast

The Jennings Creek wildfire that's burned for 10 days along the New York-New Jersey border is now mostly contained, but conditions are still primed for fire in the Northeast. CBS News New York reporter Christina Fan has more.

• Nov 18, 2024
• 01:23

New Jersey emergency drought warning

A fire is burning along the New Jersey-New York border as an emergency drought warning emerges. CBS News' Tom Hanson has the latest.

• Nov 14, 2024
• 02:45

Maps show drought and fire conditions in Northeast states

Parts of the East Coast are under drought conditions and red flag warnings, from Massachusetts to the northern edge of Virginia and West Virginia.

• Nov 9, 2024

Weather changes leave Greek town's waterways carpeted in dead fish

Officials in Volos, Greece, say the "strong stench along the seafront" from millions of dead fish is killing business.

• Aug 30, 2024

Drought-stricken Namibia authorizes culling of elephants, hippos for meat

Namibia will cull more than 700 animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos, and distribute the meat to people impacted by severe drought in the southern African country.

• Aug 28, 2024

The Climate Election: Grocery inflation explained

$15 for a pound of coffee? Groceries have been particularly expensive lately with inflation helping drive up the cost of nutritional staples 25% since 2019. But there's a root problem with the surge in grocery costs that's attacking food right at the source. CBS Los Angeles meteorologist Marina Jurica explains what to know about the rising costs of groceries as we get closer to Election Day and what Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have planned to address it.

• Aug 26, 2024
• 01:36

New study estimates 47,000 heat-related deaths in Europe last year

Researchers say this is the second-highest heat related mortality burden in the last decade, following 2022 when an estimated 60,000 people in Europe died due to heat.

• Aug 12, 2024

Movement races to preserve fertile land

About 52% of the earth's agricultural land is already in an infertile state, according to the Save Soil movement, citing data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. If the current trend holds, 95% of the earth could be degraded by 2050. Martin Frick, director of the World Food Program's global office in Berlin, joins to discuss what's at stake.

• Jun 17, 2024
• 05:40

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