报导团队前往美国西南部亚利桑那州，观察研究者所称的「特大干旱」。7月中旬，在横跨亚利桑那、新墨西哥与犹他州的纳瓦霍族保留地亚利桑那部分，尽管正值通常预期降雨的季节，地表仍然干裂。

在过去四十年中，科罗拉多河流域的土壤含水量约下降20%。鲍威尔湖水位约下跌50公尺；该湖由格伦峡谷大坝兴建形成，按最大库容计为美国第二大人工水库。水库主管肯・朗内尔斯警告，若水位持续下降，水力发电功能可能停摆，水库甚至可能变成「死库」。

A Nikkei analysis using nearly 40 years of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data finds global soil moisture has fallen sharply since the turn of the millennium. ECMWF is a global meteorological organization backed by more than 30 European countries.

The reporting team visited Arizona in the U.S. Southwest to see what researchers describe as a “megadrought.” In mid-July, in the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation spanning Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the ground stayed parched despite it being the season when rain is typically expected.

Over the past four decades, soil moisture in the Colorado River basin has dropped by roughly 20%. At Lake Powell, water levels have fallen about 50 meters; the reservoir, created by the Glen Canyon Dam, is the second-largest artificial reservoir in the U.S. by maximum capacity. An administrator warns that continued declines could halt hydropower and push the lake toward a “dead pool.”