Nevada has already entered a “perfect storm” of weather and environmental calamity. Some of its cities, particularly Las Vegas, already suffer from drought that will rob them of enough water to be viable places for large populations. At the south end of the state, the water levels of Lake Mead may be the lowest in history, and will continue to drop indefinitely. There is no chance the water situation will improve.
Oddly, Las Vegas has been hit by ruining floods due to rain levels that were unusually high and fell in just a few hours. While these are extremely dangerous, they are too short lived to slow the pace or duration of the drought.
A look at the U.S. Drought Monitor over the last several months shows the percentage of land suffering from extreme drought is higher than anywhere in the country. Monthly precipitation runs below one inch, and in spring and early summer much lower.
Las Vegas is a sprawl of over 2.2 million people. The population of the entire state of Nevada is barely 3.1 million. Vast parts of the state have almost no residents at all. However, they are almost entirely without water as well.
The only state and city with a similar problem are Arizona and Phoenix. Not unlike Las Vegas, Phoenix residents and the government worry that water levels are too low to support the burgeoning population. Phoenix is the fastest-growing large city in America.
No one knows where the people from Las Vegas or Phoenix will go if their cities lose enough of their water to provide basic services. Certainly, activities like watering lawns, a part of everyday life for decades will disappear.
Get out of Nevada. Parts won’t be habitable, in the traditional sense, much longer.
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