Our county has been in an “exceptional drought” since late June. This is the highest and most severe category listed on the U.S. Drought Monitor. For almost a year we’ve climbed through “moderate,” “severe,” and “extreme” to reach this new level, capped off with record-breaking dry spells in the spring.
It’s been very hot, too, and I suspect the sun-drenched water this poor squirrel is drinking is pretty warm, too. We keep breaking high temperature records. As I take pictures from the comfort of an air-conditioned room my heart breaks for the creatures struggling outside for days on end in the heat.
As the temperature rises, it will drive a great migration — of humans, of animals, of plants, of jobs, of wealth, of diseases. They will all seek out cooler ecological niches where they can thrive. Some will fare better than others. Robins can migrate more easily than elephants. Poison ivy can move more quickly than an oak tree. Farmers who grow wheat have more options than farmers who grow peaches. And some creatures have nowhere to go. Polar bears in the Arctic can’t migrate farther north. Frogs in Costa Rica aren’t going to hop up to Canada.
~ Jeff Goodell
(The Heat Will Kill You First: Life & Death on a Scorched Planet)
What challenges the world is facing, and most humans would rather look away. 😢
In August 2003 about 15,000 people died in France during a European heat wave. Sooner or later we will all come face to face with this shocking reality. 😢
Barbara, that’s such a lovely picture of the squirrel enjoying the water you put out for it. I especially like how it picks its head up from the water and the droplets run down its chin. I feel so badly for all the creatures, with nowhere to hide from the unrelenting heat and now the wildfire smoke and your drought which is leaving it with few options to eat and the surfaces of ponds or marshes likely green with algae from the heat. I wonder how many songbirds will survive this Summer? I really miss interacting with the squirrels, both at the house and at the Park on a daily basis.
Sometimes focusing on how just one life is being affected can help us to appreciate the larger picture. We’re all in big trouble. I read that drought conditions can actually make the mosquito problem worse because as creeks are drying up they leave very stagnant little puddles of water, where the more harmful disease-carrying mosquitos can breed. Those songbirds are tough little creatures, they are actually little dinosaurs that managed to survive the extinction of most dinosaurs. Time will tell how well they can manage this crisis.
I shudder to think that this is the new norm for Summer, well for all seasons really, going forward. In his forecast about still another storm coming in the overnight tonight, the meteorologist said the weather extremes will just keep getting worse as we go along. For me, the weather worrier, that just about kills me. Yes, we can stay in the house in the A/C just as you said, but there is no way we can protect all the creatures. We’re already losing bees and butterflies – will birds be next? Your squirrel enjoying that water brought tears to my eyes for “mine” and how they are faring and who is left there. I wonder if this little squirrel is Fred, back to visit because he remembers a prior kindness at your home.
I’m sure that squirrel was very appreciative of this.
Ironically, as I am typing this comment, here in Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut we are under a flood watch. Drenching rain began in the Litchfield Hills and the Berkshires yesterday, spreading further east today and tomorrow.
Since that day with the squirrel we’ve had a lot of rain, thankfully, and we’ve dropped two levels from exceptional to moderate drought. The water levels in the reservoirs are starting to go up again. Looks like we will have to get used to these weather swings in the coming years.