In August 2026, a series of powerful winter storms transformed parts of northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, covering the famously dry landscape in an unusual layer of snow. Snow is not unheard of in the Atacama. Significant falls occurred in 2025 and, before that, in 2011. But one of the August 2026 storms stood out because [...]

Puerto Rico went from no drought to widespread extreme drought in just months as rainfall collapsed and water shortages spread. Puerto Rico usually enters its wet season in May. In 2026, however, the expected rains largely failed to arrive through late August, leaving much of the U.S. territory in drought. The prolonged dry spell has [...]

A giant 29-square-mile iceberg broke from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier and survived a collision with Joe Island that might have shattered a more fragile berg. Summer is the busiest time of year for iceberg activity in Greenland’s glacier-fed fjords, and 2026 brought another dramatic example. In August, a huge iceberg separated from Petermann Glacier on Greenland’s [...]

New Mexico’s largest reservoir plunged to just 1.4 percent capacity in July 2026, revealing the dramatic impact of prolonged drought and record early snowmelt. NASA is using satellite data to help water managers understand the shrinking supply and prepare for future shortages. When astronaut John Glenn remarked on the landscape below him while orbiting Earth [...]