If learning that drought is the third-costliest natural disaster in the country is surprising, so too will grasping how damaging abnormally long periods of dryness might become in the future.
Drought has caused a cumulative $365 billion in damage during the last 45 years in inflation-adjusted dollars.
NOAA, whose "Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters" database was updated annually and adjusted by the cost of living to keep comparisons between natural disasters as apples-to-apples, was shuttered last year when the Trump Administration cut funding for it.
There’s little about drought that is dramatic in the short-term.
Wind-driven drought doesn’t race up hills and consume dozens of homes in minutes, nor does drought produce out-of-control flash flooding that washes away homes, cars, and people.
Drought is the hare to a tornado's rabbit.
Drought's duration, scale, and deep economic impacts make it so damaging.
A stretch of abnormal dryness can last years, affect 500,000 square miles, and cause billions in losses throughout various segments of society.
Even more surprising than the amount of damage already done by drought may be the turmoil it’s poised to cause in South Florida during the next 45 years.
Climate change is expected to make drought more frequent and damaging by changing rainfall patterns and increasing evaporation.
Stronger droughts will reduce the amount of water available for homes, farms, businesses, and the environment.
More frequent droughts will likely cause people to over-pump coastal aquifers, allowing saltwater to intrude into waning supplies of drinking water.
Those are a mere smattering of the effects of worsening droughts feared by U-S Geological Service-led researchers, as published in the Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment two months ago.
Their computer models most often predicted drier conditions in the future, especially if the world keeps warming, which a majority of scientists agree it will.
And that would mean water managers in South Florida need to start planning now, for a future where water might be harder to come by.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by Volo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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