Drys are becoming dryer.NASA satellite photos show how snow trends are dramatically changing in Sierra Nevada, the majestic mountain range that California relies on for water. This is what irrigates California's flourishing growth of fruits and veggies.California's snow and rain patterns are known as "boom-and-bust" cycles. Dry spells are becoming more intense and frequent. NASA snow scientist McKenzie Skiles stated that there have been fewer boom year in the last 10 years while dry years have become more intense.The climate is warming and the snowpack is decreasing. This can be especially problematic in drier years. Scientists discovered that the Sierra Nevada's snow level (the elevation at which it snows more than it rains), increased by 2,300 feet between 2008-2017. NASA explained that the result was less snow cover over time, and less water stored within the snowpack.Below is satellite imagery that shows both a 2006-2021 and 2015 drought timelapses. It also shows 2017's wetter year and 2015's drought year. This illustrates the extremes in California snowpack and how they threaten 20th-century conceptions of water reliability. We live in a warmer and more warming climate.A dry year on the left (2015), and a wetter one on the right (2017). Credit: nasa2021 could be the driest ever in West Asia. The Southwest is also currently in a megadrought that has lasted more than two decades, the worst drought in at least 400-years.Droughts do come and go, but the dryness of the air is getting drier. Jonathan Overpeck, a University of Michigan climate scientist, told Mashable that "[Droughts] are] going to become worse and worse unless global warming is stopped."It is evident in Sierra Nevada. The state's declining reservoir levels are another indicator.
