Drought has many negative impacts on communities and industry, including reduced agriculture production, significantly reduced water quality and quantity, increased incidence of illness and disease, and an overall diminished quality of life.

NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) and National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) are working with the California State Climatologist/California Department of Water Resources, the NOAA-supported California-Nevada Adaptation Program, and NOAA’s National Weather Service and National Centers for Environmental Information to create a better early warning system for predicting drought and its impacts.