2022 North American Drought Monitor Forum

Drought is one of the costliest and most prevalent natural hazards, resulting in average annual economic losses of $6-8 billion in the U.S. and more than $40 billion for the worst droughts of the past 25 years. Drought and its impacts are not confined by any nation's borders. In North America, severe drought during the past several years created concerns about shared water rights not only between states and interests within the U.S., but also between neighboring countries. Agriculture and farming interests were affected in all three countries (Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.), wildfire outbreaks forced the sharing of firefighting resources across borders, and municipalities were forced to levy water restrictions at various times in many parts of the continent.

In 2001, government officials within the U.S., Mexico, and Canada established a trilateral partnership to improve drought monitoring on the North American continent and provide decision makers with information essential to planning, mitigation, and response activities. This was accomplished through the initiation, in November 2002, of a North American Drought Monitor (NADM). The NADM provides a comprehensive analysis of end-of-month drought conditions through the use of numerous objective drought indices and indicators along with input from contributors at the regional, provincial, and local levels.

Goal of the 2022 Workshop:

Drought experts across Canada, the United States, and Mexico will join in a virtual conference to discuss North American drought monitoring topics and transnational collaborations. The agenda will include these main themes: technical and scientific aspects, partner organization updates, and user engagement.

Target Audience:

Drought monitoring professionals; government and commercial sector stakeholders; academia; and water managers, decision makers, and users of international (North American) drought data (including the North American Drought Monitor/NADM) in all sectors affected by drought, including the agricultural and economic sectors.

This year’s NADM Forum will be a virtual event held on Thursday and Friday, October 20–21, 2022. It is being organized by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA Climate Prediction Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC). The virtual environment is being hosted by NDMC. The URL for the virtual event will be provided by email to registrants prior to the start of the workshop.