Kearny, Ariz., is a town on the brink. Located at the foot of the Dripping Spring Mountains in eastern Arizona, this small community of 2,000 people sources its water from the Gila River. … But in March, the snowpack feeding the river had dropped to precipitous levels: It was just 1 percent of its historic norm for that time of year. … Kearny’s dilemma foreshadows a crisis building across the American Southwest. Since 2000, the region — which includes Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah, Colorado and parts of northern Mexico — has endured a historic “megadrought,” or a period of severe dryness that persists for decades. Scientists say it’s the driest this region has been in 1,200 years. … [R]esearchers worry that the megadrought may be locked in place for the foreseeable future.

Other drought and climate science news:

• Brigham Young University: Blog: Facing the megadrought: BYU researchers study underground ice reservoirs in the American West
• John Fleck at Inkstain: Blog: Making sense of the crazy outlier year of 2026​