According to the August 13, 2019, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to extreme drought covers 6.8% of the United States including Puerto Rico, an increase from last week’s 5.6%. The worst drought categories (extreme to exceptional drought) increased from 0.1% last week to 0.2%.
Abnormal dryness and drought are currently affecting over 71 million people across the United States including Puerto Rico—about 22.9% of the population.
The full U.S. Drought Monitor weekly update is available from Drought.gov.
In addition to Drought.gov, you can find further information on the current drought as well as on this week’s Drought Monitor update at the National Drought Mitigation Center. See their recent news releases.
The most recent U.S. Drought Outlook is available from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides information about the drought’s influence on crops and livestock.
For additional drought information, follow #DroughtMonitor on Facebook and Twitter.
