DROUGHT
Digital Art on Metal 40" W X 30" H
THE SKETCH
WHAT'S ALARMING
Extreme weather events, such as droughts, are affecting the world’s supply of water, with severe seasonal droughts are already occurring in various parts of the globe. According to a recent analysis*, 170 scientific reports published from 2004 to mid-2018, covering 190 extreme weather events, found that about two-thirds of those events, particularly those involving extreme heat, droughts and flooding, were made more likely or severe by human-induced climate change.
Climate change is seriously affecting the supply of water in the southwestern area of the U.S.:
“Global warming has pushed what would have been a moderate drought in southwestern North America into megadrought territory. Williams et al. used a combination of hydrological modeling and tree-ring reconstructions of summer soil moisture to show that the period from 2000 to 2018 was the driest 19-year span since the late 1500s and the second driest since 800 CE (see the Perspective by Stahle). This appears to be just the beginning of a more extreme trend toward megadrought as global warming continues.”**
“The largest and most intense drought in years is engulfing the West and threatens to grow larger and more severe in the coming months. The drought has already been a major contributor to record wildfire activity in California and Colorado. Its continuation could also deplete rivers, stifle crops and eventually drain water supplies in some Western states.”*** The featured artwork was sketched from variations of the word “drought”.
*”Droughts, heatwaves and floods: How to tell when climate change is to blame” , Nature International Journal of Science, July 2018
**”Large contribution from anthropogenic warming to an emerging North American megadrought”, A. Park Williams, et al,Science 17 Apr 2020:
Vol. 368, Issue 6488, pp. 314-318
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz9600
***Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2020 based data from the U.S. Drought Monitor , Oct 13, 2020