This story was updated at 2:27 p.m. EDT.
A key federal tool for directing emergency aid to drought-stricken regions is being overwhelmed by the impacts of climate change — including prolonged periods of extremely dry weather — and may need to be revamped, a new study says.
Researchers at Dartmouth College studied the U.S. Drought Monitor, a map published weekly that tracks drought conditions — drawing from weather and hydrological data, as well as on-the-ground observations and expert review — across the United States.
Drawing on more than two decades of data, researchers declared that the monitor is at a “crossroads,” as persistent drought across much of the western United States has resulted in areas that remain in more severe and persistent drought status than the program is set up to track.
