The latest California numbers suggest 2025 will be another record-smashing year for valley fever, the illness linked to drought and precipitation and spread by fungal spores. … Researchers speculate the rise is tied to patterns of drought and precipitation. Periods of severe drought followed by wet winter and dry summer seem to coincide with more people getting sick. They also suspect climate change has expanded the fungi’s range into areas where it was previously rare. 

Other drought impact news:

• The Denver Post (Colo.): Western Colorado is at the ‘epicenter of drought’ as a hot, dry summer saps water supplies — and fuels wildfires​
• University of Colorado Boulder: Human emissions drove the megadrought in the western U.S.