By Josh Novick ’21
An arid summer of 2020 has contributed to a scorching drought across New England damaging agriculture and wildlife. Over 25% of Massachusetts, 20% of New Hampshire, and 45% of Maine is considered to be abnormally dry and needs precipitation. Some water systems in northern New England have implemented water-use restrictions on daily life, agriculture, and recreational practice due to this severe drought.
New England is in urgent trouble. The probability of wildfires has spiked as dry soil and living conditions have become unfertile and unlivable. The economic and natural supply and demand chains will be impacted very negatively as well with agriculture and natural goods unable to be produced, and wildlife struggling to stay alive. The increased temperatures also may increase mosquito’s population and other pest activity which will lead to an increase in mosquito rid diseases spread through their bites.
A local paper in New Hampshire, The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports, “in the Northeast, anomalously warm temperatures and below-normal precipitation during the past 90-day period have led to deterioration in drought-related conditions in parts of New England — including Massachusetts where state officials declared a Level 2 drought on August 14 for all regions of the state,” David Simeral of the Western Regional Climate Center wrote in the Monitor’s weekly summary. Parts of New Hampshire had their hottest summers in 144 years, and if this does not slow down soon, we will be in some trouble.
We hope that these really unusual weather conditions will not persist for the foreseeable future.
