climate change

New federal data shows a wide gap in the amount of carbon pollution produced by electricity generation across the West, reflecting stark differences in how states produce their power.

Wildfires are burning more land in watersheds that provide water to communities across the West, raising concerns about water quality and infrastructure as fires become larger and more frequent.

In Wyoming’s Beartooth Mountains, scientists are studying ice that has survived for thousands of years — and what could help some patches persist as the climate warms.

New research finds only a small portion of the nation’s rivers may be able to maintain today’s diversity of fish and other aquatic wildlife as the climate warms.

Reservoirs across the West are slowly losing space to store water as dirt, sand and other sediment pile up behind dams, according to new, sweeping, nationwide research.

Much of the West sweltered through record-breaking heat this summer, as a strengthening El Niño, unusually warm oceans and ongoing human-caused climate change combined to push temperatures to historic levels.

As the climate warms, some mountain trees are moving higher up, while others are spreading downhill. Scientists say something inside the trees may explain why. And that split could reshape watersheds and wildfire risk.

Scientists have a new name for a weather pattern reshaping how the West gets its water: so-called “snow-eater” heat waves.

Severe drought is shrinking the places many Western animals depend on for food, water and shelter, and the effects may be strongest for predators, according to new research.

Longer wildfire seasons can blanket communities in smoke. Summer heat records continue to rise. Drought remains a persistent concern for water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems.