It’s been called a historic drought. An exceptional drought. A catastrophic drought. But it’s four rainless years later, and we still don’t have an actual name for that drought that’s spreading throughout the Western United States. Everyone just calls it “The Drought.” It’s time to come up with something better.
Maybe it’s just because our weather is getting more and more extreme, but naming weather events is becoming more and more prevalent. Most major storms like cyclones and hurricanes are being christened now (whether officially or not) and there’s even a movement to name large-scale climate events like El Niños. This drought needs a name so it can take its rightful place alongside famous droughts in history. The Dust Bowl certainly has a nice ring to it. Australia’s Millennium Drought had a name and its own nickname: “The Big Dry.”
Besides, once climate change truly takes hold, we’ll need to name this one to differentiate it from all the other droughts that are coming, right? Leave your driest commentary on the subject below.
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