Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by Hoover Dam on the Colorado river in the Southwestern United States.
Lake Mead is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. Lake Mead’s water levels currently stand at 1,070.31 feet, as per Newsweek 90.
Lake Mead provides water to the states of Arizona, California and Nevada as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland. As per Wikipedia.
At the moment, the Nevada reservoir is the highest it has been since summer 2021. Projections from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also estimate that it will further rise in February. Water levels will rise around 1,073.32 feet by the end of next month.
However, the projections also estimate that the reservoir will drop by 17 feet throughout 2024, by the end of December, where the water levels seeing a steady drop will reach around 1,056.19 feet.
The southwestern parts of United States has suffered a serious drought, which mean lack of rainfall, less snowpack, that would directly affect the reservoir, as no water would fill it, causing drop in water levels; which is a serious concern for Lake Mead.
Climate change is the main factor in affecting the lake’s water level as in the year 2022, lake Mead hit its lowest ever since it got constructed in 1930, as the water level reached 1,040 feet.
On the other hand, in the year 2023, due to severe rainfall and extreme cold in the United States, water levels touched soaring heights in Lake Mead, making it the largest manmade reservoir.
Again the clock is projected to turn around, where it is estimated that the water level will drop by the end of the year 2024, in around the month of December due to uncertain weatherconditios.
Thus, again the water levels is expected to rise in the year 2025, on noticing the very pattern, but in the end whatever would happen would totally be according to the weather condition that prevail during that particular time of which so ever year.
Thus it is known that waterbodies are dependent heavily on climate, so same is the condition of Lake Powell, the neighbour of Lake Mead, as both the lakes caters to the necessities of large section of people of United States.
As per reports, “Lake Powell and Lake Mead are both higher today than they were a year ago, thanks to a very wet winter last year, but they are still more than half empty,” Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River program director for the National Audubon Society, previously told Newsweek.
“We can’t forecast water levels in 2024 until we know how much snow falls in the Rocky Mountains over the coming winter, but we do know the situation will get worse over time as climate change continues to diminish the Colorado River.”
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