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US reservoirs are evaporating more quickly because of climate ... - New Scientist

New Scientist · last updated

US reservoirs are evaporating more quickly because of climate change | New Scientist

Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam has been losing water due to an extended drought Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Lake Mead near the Hoover Dam has been losing water due to an extended drought

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Climate change is increasing the rate of evaporation at reservoirs across the US. The effect is most consequential in the Southwest, where reservoir levels are already at record lows amid a megadrought and decades of overuse.

Huilin Gao at Texas A&M University and her colleagues modelled the effect of climate change on evaporation at US reservoirs. They looked at more than 670 reservoirs, representing almost 90 per cent of total US water storage.

Evaporation is driven …

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