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They predicted a permanent drought. They were wrong.

More than 283 million Americans currently live in regions experiencing no drought. This is the most people in the history of the US to experience no drought conditions at once.

The graph above shows data for the entire period covered by the US Drought Monitor. This week marks the first time in the record that >90% of the US has experienced conditions of NO drought. Some further info:

• • Since 2000, the linear trend in the data indicates that the overall proportion of the US experiencing no drought conditions increased from about 50% to about 60%.
  • According to the Drought Monitor, more than 283 million people currently live in regions experiencing no drought. This is the most people in the history of the US to experience no drought conditions at once.

UHI studies have been popping up

Chinese UHI study finds 0.34C/century inflation effect on average temperature estimate.

Glacier stops melting and starts to grow.

Where previously this was dropping in height by 20m a year, it’s now thickening by 20m a year.

“All this is a reminder of how unpredictable glaciers can be,” she told BBC News. 

American forests are being denuded and sent overseas as wood chips to replace coal.

Critics counter that every tree should account for itself. When a tree is harvested, the carbon it once stored is eventually released — be it at the smokestack or via decomposition on the ground — regardless of whether another tree down the road has been planted. That particular tree was counted on to continue absorbing carbon, to contribute to the existing carbon sink. “In essence, it’s like saying, ‘I don’t have to go on a diet, because my neighbor has decided they’re going to cut eating their ice cream,’” says Sami Yassa, a senior scientist with the Climate & Clean Energy Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.