Phoenix nears dry spell record as drought conditions worsen
Phoenix nears dry spell record as drought conditions worsen
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Arizona capital, made drier and hotter by climate crisis, edges towards longest streak without recorded rain. The US city of Phoenix is close to breaking another extreme weather record, this time the longest stretch without rain as drought conditions worsen across Arizona.
As of Saturday, there had been no recorded rainfall in America’s fifth largest city for 154 consecutive days – the second longest dry spell on record as the climate crisis collides with natural weather patterns. The last measurable rainfall was recorded on 22 August by the National Weather Service (NWS) weather station at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. There is a small chance of rain on Sunday night, but with La Niña conditions present, which tend to make the US south-west drier and cooler, the current record of 160 dry days, set in 1972, could be broken.
“This is the desert so it’s not unusual to have no rain but it’s just been so long … we are in a drought,” said Katherine Berislavich, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Phoenix. “We broke all sorts of heat records last summer because there was little rain and no cloud cover to keep temperatures cooler.”.
Phoenix is a sunny desert city with an average annual rainfall of 7.2in, according to NWS data from the past 30 years. In 2024, there was only 4.5in after a poor monsoon and no winter rainfall. The annual rainfall has been below average for the past six years.
Drought conditions increase the risk of wildfires and crop failures, and threaten the water sources and vegetation relied upon by wildlife. In the surrounding Sonoran desert, the cacti are droopy and the tinajos, the natural water basins relied upon by wildlife and migrants, are parched. The conditions in Arizona range from abnormally dry to extreme drought, according to the US Drought Monitor.
