Droughts are not increasing in the U.S. (NOAA) (Part 2)
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.
