East-West Weather Divide: Half the Country’s Too Wet, the Other’s Too Dry
Alongside a lingering global pandemic, the year 2021 was filled with climate disasters, some so intense they surprised even the scientists who study them.
Extreme rainstorms turned to raging flash floods that swept through mountain towns in Europe, killing over 200 people. Across Asia, excessive rainfall inundated wide areas and flooded subway stations in China. Heat waves shattered records in the Pacific Northwest, Europe and the Arctic. Wildfires swept through communities in California, Canada, Greece and Australia. And those were only a few of the extremes.
In the U.S. alone, damage from the biggest climate and weather disasters is expected to total well over US$100 billion in 2021.