Page 21 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

New Mexico Maps Climate Risks to Inform Climate Action Long before Spanish-Mexican settlers arrived in what is now New Mexico, people had farmed the land for centuries. They devised sustainable dryland farming practices that included irrigation canals and fields rich with porous volcanic pumice to absorb water and slowly release it. Like Indigenous people elsewhere, native New Mexicans thrived by working with the unique attributes of their land. Today those attributes are changing. Drought and rising temperatures are causing wells and drainage ditches to go dry and forcing tough decisions about how to adapt. In some areas of the state, early shutoff of irrigation water, along with steep increases in fuel and fertilizer costs, mean that many farmers could lose their land. To help all New Mexicans prepare for uncertain climate outcomes, a team of scientists, technologists, and resource specialists launched the New Mexico Climate Risk Map. Experts at the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) teamed with the Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) at the University of New Mexico and aggregated and analyzed data to create the interactive map using GIS technology. The map allows anyone to explore the worst outcomes of rising temperatures—drought, heat, flooding, degraded air quality, and wildfire—noting where and who will face heightened risks from these hardships. Communities can use the map to visualize climate pressures and see where they will have to make hard decisions to adapt. Taking Climate Action against Compounding Problems The entire state of New Mexico is currently experiencing drought. The average annual temperature, which has increased three degrees since 1970, is projected to rise another nine degrees by 2100. Together these changing conditions have increased wildfires. 20 to Climate Action A Geographic Approach