Hello all, thank you for reading this week’s Sunday post. We would like to look at the ongoing mega-drought in the American West. Due to La Nina conditions, characterized by the lower than average precipitation in the southwest and southeast, and a lack of a monsoon in 2020, already dry conditions in the west have gotten considerably worse. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had projections out in March, and many news organizations have been steadily covering it. But a recent development is a severe heat wave, especially as we are entering summer. The New York Times has a graphic illustrating drought conditions over the past 20 years, and in it one can see that not only has the area experiencing drought increased, but also the areas experiencing more than severe drought has increased as well for 2021. This year is particularly unique for how widespread and quickly the conditions have spread since warm temperatures arrived early and prevented winter precipitation. Typically, extreme heat waves occur in August and September, but now states are setting new records for high temperatures, with Phoenix reaching 118 F. A recent study found that about 1100 deaths a year in the US can be attributed to human-caused climate change heat; in other countries without sufficient cooling systems, this number may be significantly higher. Additionally, wet soil would normally moderate heat waves, but dry soils now have no effect and increase the likelihood of fires. Obviously the cause is climate change, and as it continues unabated, we shall see extremes only get more extreme. Dry years keep setting record dryness and temperatures, while wet years set record wetness and extreme flash floods. Meanwhile, the excessive heat causes health issues for residents and increases evaporation from reservoirs. And if last year’s megafires in the West and Australia have taught us anything, it’s that fires will also become bigger and more uncontrollable.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
March 2019
"There is nothing in which the birds differ more than man than the way that they can build and yet leave the landscape as it was before." |