This was an important presentation and discussion on the ongoing aridification of New Mexico caused by higher temperatures. David Gutzler and David DuBois presented how and why New Mexico is drying, what we can expect, and the certainty of the science. The science of global warming impacts on New Mexico’s climate will guide us in how we manage and protect our scarce and life-sustaining water supplies.
New Mexico faces a water governance crisis decades in the making. This article calls for urgent legislative and executive action, accountability for unsustainable groundwater and river overuse, and implementation of the 2023 Water Security Planning Act to empower regional solutions.