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Hola, welcome to Climate at the Border! We’re here to help you cover the most pressing climate issues in the region. In each edition of Climate at the Border, we’ll bring you what you need to know to get started reporting and make recommendations for localizing, humanizing, and reporting about solutions to the topic, starting with water scarcity.
Imagine trying to fill a water pitcher from a faucet where nothing is coming out. That’s the challenge many communities on both sides of the US-Mexico border face daily. Vea la versión en español de “El Clima en la Frontera.”
What You Need to Know
- Globally: Scientists warn that water scarcity is worsening due to climate change, overuse, and mismanagement. Rising temperatures increase evaporation, while erratic rainfall patterns make resources unpredictable.
- At the Border: Prolonged droughts, shrinking rivers, and growing demand are straining resources for millions of people. Groundwater depletion is accelerating, and legal disputes over cross-border water rights are intensifying. Research highlights that without urgent action, millions on both sides of the border could face water insecurity.
- Migration: Extreme drought drives migration, and fewer migrants crossing from Mexico return to their communities of origin when extreme weather conditions persist, according to this study. Climate change is making extreme weather more frequent, forcing more people to cross borders through dangerous routes.
Localize: Where Is the Water Going?
The border region is warming faster than the global average, intensifying droughts and threatening water supplies. The Colorado River, Rio Grande, and shared groundwater reserves are at crisis levels. How does this play out in local communities?
Key Reporting Angles:
- Investigate how urban growth, industry, and agriculture are competing for scarce water.
- Examine water treaties and how governments on both sides manage (or mismanage) shared resources.
- Track the disparities in water access between cities, rural areas, and Indigenous lands.
Stories to Inspire Your Coverage:
- “A water war is looming between Mexico and the US. Neither side is ready for it” by Laura Padison and Fidel Gutiérrez, CNN
- “Gastaron millones para bombardear nubes y hacer llover en Nuevo León: no funcionó” by Agencia Reforma
Ask an Expert:
- Rosario Sanchez, Research Scientist at the Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M University. Specializes in transboundary water management and has studied water challenges along the US-Mexico border.
- Fernando García, Atmospheric Science Institute and Climate Change Researcher at UNAM.
Humanize: Who Is Most Affected?
Thirty million people live on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), there has been significant population growth in Mexican border cities including Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Nogales, Mexicali, Nuevo Laredo, and Matamoros. This rapid growth was driven by export-oriented industrial development with the maquiladoras (factories) and has strained infrastructure. Poverty rates in border counties are higher than the national average. On the US side, more than 134,000 residents in colonias (housing settlements in precarious conditions) lack access to safe, clean, running water and sewer services.
Talk to the Communities on the Frontlines:
- Rural towns and Indigenous groups are often the first to feel water shortages and the last to get solutions.
- Agricultural workers and small farmers are struggling to get irrigation supplies.
- Border residents are facing pollution crises from contaminated water sources and failing infrastructure, adding another layer of risk.
Stories to Inspire Your Coverage:
- “Fighting the toxic tide sewage crisis at the US-Mexico border” by Joe Little, NBC San Diego
- “México experimenta escasez de agua y falta de equidad en su distribución” by Rafael López, Gaceta UNAM
Ask an Expert:
- Elizabeth Carter, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University. Researches the political dimensions of water scarcity and its impact on communities in northern Mexico.
- Mario Manzano, Climate Change Researcher at the Water Center, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Solutions: What Are the Fixes?
Highlight What’s Working and What’s Not:
- Water conservation programs: How are communities adapting to use less?
- Desalination and waste treatment projects: Are they viable options?
- Cross-border collaborations: Are US and Mexican authorities finding common ground?
Stories to Inspire Your Coverage:
- “¿Puede la desalinización calmar la sed de la agricultura?” by Lela Nargi, Knowable
- “El Paso is going to turn wastewater into drinking water” by Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News
Ask an Expert:
- Binational Waters is a binational and multidisciplinary institution of water scientists dedicated to improving water resilience along the Mexico-US border.
What’s Next?
Have a water story from the border? We’d love to amplify it. You can send it here: editors[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org.
Want more on climate? Sign up for our other newsletters.
Any questions? Send them to training[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org.
Nos vemos pronto, see you in soon!
– CCNow’s Climate at the Border team
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