Saturday, April 2, 2022, 6:00 p.m. – For more than a year, the western United States has experienced a major drought on its territory. The situation has been rated as extreme and exceptional for certain sectors.
Winter is in its final stages in North America. However, in the west of the continent, which should have enjoyed some relief from the drought, drought continues to flourish.
Unenviable picture
This year, several wildfires have broken out in the western United States. Some burned for weeks before they were finally contained by emergency services. New fires were also recorded in December and January in these two sectors.
Director California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection She mentioned last January that these events were becoming more common: “10 to 15 years ago we called it California fire season, where we could see fires, say in July, that probably lasted until September or October. It’s only been a few months Now our fires continue until December, then January.”
To give a better idea: in Texas since January 2022, more than 90,000 hectares have burned, more than twice the area Quebec loses annually to wildfires.
water shortage crying
Moreover, according to data from the US Drought Observatory, about 95.7% of Texas is abnormally dry. Also, just over 40% of the state suffers from severe drought or a top rating. This would also be particularly the case in California, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
but according to United States ocean and atmospheric monitoring agencysevere to exceptional drought has been present in parts of the West since the summer of 2020, before spreading south of the Plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley.
To make matters worse: All of these states in the southwestern United States are currently experiencing little rainfall. Notable anomalies have been identified in Texas and Colorado, among others.
Elsewhere in the east and coming
Meanwhile, in the east of the continent, a completely opposite scenario was unfolding. Over the past few months, several systems with heavy precipitation have been born in the southeastern United States and then run their course in Quebec.
For the summer of 2022, it’s still too early to assume the situation. But with the current rather dry spring in the West, it seems bad that the drought has finally subsided.
