Almost a third of Americans have experienced a weather disaster this summer, giving them firsthand experience of a future of extreme hurricanes, wildfires, storms and floods caused by global climate change.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA both show rapid warming in the 21st century, with the past decade being the warmest on record. According to the Washington Post, the cost of responding to these weather disasters is more than $ 81 billion per year.

Among these disasters were several significant, costly and deadly droughts. Droughts are among the most destructive forces of nature – only hurricanes are the most damaging economically for the United States. Destroyed crops impact the economy, as feed prices increase, which can indirectly increase the price of meats and animal products like milk and cheese. Annual losses due to drought amount to nearly $ 9 billion per year. Droughts also contribute to forest fires, increasing the likelihood of ignition and making them more extreme when they do occur.

Stacker ranked each state and Washington DC, based on the average percentage of land in the state that experienced drought conditions over the 20-year period from 2000 to March 2021, using data from the US Drought Monitor (USDM). USDM ranks drought conditions using a five-point scale ranging from ‘unusually dry’, indicating short-term crop drought or persistent water deficit, to ‘exceptional drought’, a severe condition involving a water emergency that leads to a crop / loss of pasture.

North Carolina in numbers

– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 18,963 square miles. (38.5% of the area); 3,940,196 people (41.4% of the population)
– Moderate drought: 9,794 square miles. (19.9% ​​of the land area); 2,072,329 people (21.8% of the population)
– Severe drought: 4,837 square miles. (9.8% of the area); 1,029,003 people (10.8% of the population)
– Extreme drought: 2,182 square miles. (4.4% of the area); 498,284 people (5.2% of the population)
– Exceptional drought: 700 m² (1.4% of the area); 182,254 people (1.9% of the population)

North Carolina is doing better than many states this year, with no region having experienced drought. But with the exception of a brief reprieve between 2003 and 2004, the 2000s were not favorable to North Carolina when it comes to precipitation. The century began with a drought that lasted 155 weeks between the very beginning of 2000 and the very end of 2002, when conditions were severe, extreme or exceptional. Things only got worse in the second half of the decade. At the height of the drought in 2007, more than 66% of North Carolina experienced exceptional drought.

The full national list, including descriptions of the conditions that led or prevented the drought in each state and the events that led to the state’s change in drought state, can be viewed here. Read on to find out which states have the worst droughts.

States most affected by drought

# 1. Arizona
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 87,702 square miles. (76.9% of the area); 4,867,057 people (76.1% of the population)
# 2. Nevada
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 78,717 square miles. (71.2% of the area); 1,942,485 people (71.9% of the population)
# 3. New Mexico
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 84,806 square miles. (69.8% of the area); 1,455,107 people (70.7% of the population)

States least affected by drought

# 1. Ohio
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 6,631 square miles. (16.1% of the land area); 1,815,050 people (15.7% of the population)
# 2. Alaska
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 95,420 square miles. (16.4% of the area); 159,582 people (23.2% of the population)
# 3. new York
– Share of state experiencing drought conditions (20-year average): 8,721 square miles. (18.0% of the area); 4,174,482 people (21.5% of the population)