{"text":[[{"start":14.18,"text":"More than half of the US is in drought as extreme heat and a persistent lack of rain and snow raise the spectre of water shortages and fire risk, while scientists forecast the return of the El Niño warming cycle."}],[{"start":30.060000000000002,"text":"Early spring temperatures have been at near-record levels in parts of the northern hemisphere, and the naturally occurring Pacific Ocean warming cycle could intensify the heat driven by climate change in the second half of the year."}],[{"start":44.45,"text":"The global average temperature for March was 1.48C above preindustrial levels, the European Earth observation service Copernicus reported on Friday. Arctic sea ice was at its lowest extent on record for March, while sea surface temperatures approached historic highs. "}],[{"start":64.28,"text":"“Each figure is striking on its own — together, they paint a picture of a climate system under sustained and accelerating pressure,” said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":79.51,"text":"The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates there is an above-average chance of El Niño conditions developing between June and August."}],[{"start":90.69,"text":"Stoked by high temperatures and dry conditions since the start of the year, swaths of land across the US Midwest have already burnt in wildfires. "}],[{"start":101.03,"text":"More than 640,000 acres — an area more than twice the size of New York City — were destroyed in Nebraska in March in the state’s worst fire. Farms and cattle ranches, which make up some 90 per cent of its area, were severely affected."}],[{"start":120.31,"text":"In the central and south plains of the US, including parts of Colorado and Texas, there is a “historically high fire danger for this time of the year”, according to the National Interagency Fire Center."}],[{"start":134.44,"text":"While wildfires earlier in the year are not a predictor of future fires, given numerous factors that vary by location, scientists and local officials worry that high temperatures and strong winds create tinderbox conditions."}],[{"start":150.57999999999998,"text":"“Because of the dry winter in many places across the west, extended summer heatwaves will be a key factor in determining how active the summer wildfire season will be,” said Tim Brown, a professor at the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. "}],[{"start":167.26999999999998,"text":"Official forecasts for 2026 pointed to “a hot summer”, he told the FT. “If that is what happens, the potential [for wildfires] is going to be high for a lot of places.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":181.01,"text":"Sixty per cent of the US is experiencing some level of drought, according to data released on Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center. This was the highest percentage recorded for early April since the drought monitor began in 2000."}],[{"start":198.04,"text":"Hotter temperatures lead to more evaporation, drying vegetation and soil, a trend that has accelerated in the past decade due to global warming. "}],[{"start":209.04,"text":"In March, the western half of the US experienced a record-breaking heatwave. Hundreds of weather stations reported historically high temperatures, including near Yuma, Arizona, which reached 112F (44.4C) in the hottest day for the month on record."}],[{"start":229.73,"text":"The exceptional heat has also accelerated the melting of snowpack, or accumulated snow that acts as a crucial water reserve. In some western states, snowpack accounts for as much as 75 per cent of water supplies."}],[{"start":247.35999999999999,"text":"The heatwave came on the heels of a historically dry winter in the west — a “snow drought” so severe that snow cover in February was at its lowest level since 2001, when satellite recording began."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":263.28999999999996,"text":"“Not only have we had a lack of snow, but what snow we have had, much of that is already melted out,” said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist who works on the National Drought Mitigation Center’s drought monitor. “We’re not going to see that mid-to-late-summer push of water.”"}],[{"start":281.52,"text":"In Utah, where about 95 per cent of the state’s water is derived from snowpack, reservoirs are at 39 per cent capacity this week compared to the median level of 61 per cent. "}],[{"start":294.34999999999997,"text":"In Colorado, which is facing both drought and wildfire risk, officials in the city of Denver implemented rules at the end of March to cut water usage by 20 per cent."}],[{"start":308.37999999999994,"text":"“The conditions we are experiencing are unprecedented, and we need customers to save water to protect the supply we have right now,” said Nathan Elder, Denver Water’s manager of water supply, in a statement."}],[{"start":321.85999999999996,"text":"The consequences of widespread drought are worsening the fortunes of ranchers and farmers in the Midwest — some of whom are also contending with rising costs of fertiliser and fuel as a result of the Middle East war."}],[{"start":336.30999999999995,"text":"Only about a third of winter wheat grown so far is considered in good or excellent condition, compared to 48 per cent last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. In Texas, where drought conditions are especially acute, half of the wheat grown is considered in “very poor” or “poor” condition. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":359.03999999999996,"text":"Drought, which can be seasonal in some regions, can improve significantly with the onset of spring and summer rain; the south-west of the US also experiences summer monsoons. But in the Midwest, long-term water deficits are building following “year after year where the amount of precipitation received has been below normal in many places”, said Fuchs."}],[{"start":382.03,"text":"In Arkansas, drought that has carried on from 2025 is forcing more cattle producers to buy hay to feed their livestock instead of relying on pasture grass, driving up costs. "}],[{"start":395.92999999999995,"text":"“In my career, I have not seen drought conditions across the state like this,” said Addie Stamps, an economist at the Arkansas Farm Bureau specialising in beef and dairy commodities."}],[{"start":409.28,"text":"“One hundred per cent of the state of Arkansas is in drought,” said Stamps. That means farmers might have to purchase feed from farther away as local sources are strained, she said."}],[{"start":421.27,"text":"If drought conditions persist, “I don’t think people are going to be rebuilding the herd,” Stamps added. “They’re not going to be purchasing any cattle if they’re already having to purchase feed for what they have.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":445.42999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1775802004_3328.mp3"}