Currently — May 23, 2023: A Colorado River breakthrough

The weather, currently.

The federal government temporarily pushed pause on the Colorado River crisis on Monday, agreeing to more than $1B in payments to Nevada, Arizona, and California as well as tribes and landowners in the region in exchange for a promise to stop using so much water.

The agreement is designed to prevent the Colorado River and its major reservoir, Lake Mead, from falling below critical levels and will be in effect for three years — buying negotators time to come up with a more permanent plan to combat the worst drought in more than a thousand years. The agreement will likely lead to new water restrictions across the southwest, where rising temperatures and a 100-year boom in cattle ranching has led to skyrocketing demand for water.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Currently is transitioning to become an entirely member-funded organization.

We're doing this to boost our organization's prospects for growth and sustainability, and to align more with our founding ethos of becoming an independent weather service for the climate emergency.

Paid members will have a truly premium weather experience. Here's some of what we have planned:

• Text directly with Eric, our founder, who will personally answer your weather questions and give you a customized forecast on demand.

• Our first weather app, which will put your daily weather in the context of climate change, no matter where you are, anywhere in the world.

• Reader-ownership — an experiment in direct democracy so that Currently can remain accountable to our most important stakeholders, you, the readers.

We have SO MANY more exciting features planned, but we can't do this without your direct support. Your paid membership makes Currently possible.