New York City officially lifted its drought watch on Friday, two months after it first took effect.
Mayor Eric Adams said “above-average precipitation” within the past two months, New Yorkers’ conservation efforts and melting snow upstate helped replenish reservoir levels.
What You Need To Know
- New York City officially lifted its drought watch on Friday, two months after it first took effect
- The city first issued a drought watch on Nov. 2 amid what officials described as a “historic lack of precipitation"
- The dry conditions helped spark several brush fires throughout the city
“By working together and heeding officials’ advice, we were able to avoid a much more serious drought emergency,” Adams said in a statement. “The work of New Yorkers in conserving water these past two months has paid off, and now we can end this historic drought.”
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection first issued a drought watch on Nov. 2 amid what officials described as a “historic lack of precipitation.”
That watch was upgraded to a drought warning on Nov. 18 before it was downgraded back to a watch on Dec. 16.
Prior to November, the five boroughs hadn’t been under a drought warning since 2002.
The dry conditions helped spark several brush fires throughout the city, including one at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and one at Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan.