Droughts are not increasing in the U.S. (NOAA) (Part 2)
![](https://co2coalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Drought-EPA-PDSI.jpg)
Despite numerous alarming claims of increasing drought, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDI) shows zero increase in dry conditions over the last 120-plus years.
This chart shows annual values of the Palmer Drought Severity Index, averaged over the entire area of the contiguous 48 states. Positive values represent wetter-than-average conditions, while negative values represent drier-than-average conditions. A value between -2 and -3 indicates moderate drought, -3 to -4 is severe drought, and -4 or below indicates extreme drought. The thicker line is a nine-year weighted average.