Extreme Drought Persists

Photo By: US Drought Monitor

The U.S. Drought Monitor releases a weekly report on Thursdays. This week's report demonstrates the extent of drought, which has only been made worse by extreme heat that in many parts of the country has broken records this summer.

In its monthly report for June, the National Climatic Data Center reported 42 high heat records being met or exceeded, from Amarillo, Texas, to Tallahassee, Fla. In Texas, temperatures were on average 5.6 degrees above normal, also a record. The drought and heat have also contributed to wildfire risk, with a record 4.8 million acres had burned through June.

While no one weather event can be linked directly to global climate change, scientists have the most confidence in predictions that global warming will create more extreme hot summer days, with warmer nights in between. It's a little-appreciated fact, too, that high heat is the most deadly extreme weather event, exceeding even hurricanes and tornadoes. (Hail, on the other hand, causes the most monetary damages, according to insurers.)

COMMENTS ()