Philadelphia has been experiencing a drought for months. Little to no rainfall for a large metropolitan area such as Philadelphia could have serious issues if the issue continues to grow. P.O.C. hosted Lauren Casey, a meteorologist for Climate Central, on ecoWURD to detail what the drought exactly is, and what it could mean for Philadelphia residents. 

Casey introduced the idea of “mini climates,” which is, smaller and local climates where it is situated hyper-geographically. Heat islands near the shore due to coastal influences, higher elevations in the Poconos, and more urban climate between the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.  She further explained that the perpetual drought is an oddity; Little rainfall has occurred in the last few months combined with unusually warm fall temperatures. Since September 1, there has been eight inches less rainfall than expected, Casey said.

“Climate change makes our weather more extreme. It makes the rains heavier and the droughts more pervasive, more intense, lasting for longer,” explained Casey. “We’re seeing these fluxes from extremes happening more often because of climate change because we’re adding more heat and energy to our system by adding carbon pollution to our atmosphere.” 

Despite the climate being affected, Casey sees no need to panic for the lingering warmer days this fall season. However, awareness surrounding our local environment is encouraged. Casey states the need for water for crops, for people to drink, and overall quality of life. 

Without the rainfall, Casey warns, it will have a large snowball effect on an uptick of wildfires. Wildfires produce poor air quality from fire smoke moving through populations, and exposing young children and immunocompromised individuals and also ruin food crops which could lead to food insecurity. 

So far, Philadelphia has recorded 48 days consecutively of no rainfall. Despite a recent rainfal in the area, Philadelphia still faces a drought. 

Casey talks about how the trees specifically are a vital part of our urban eco-system and what a drought means for our foliage and vegetation. 

“[The drought] is compromising the health of all of those things of our local ecosystems, which has an impact on our health as well, So if we’re dealing with tree cover and we’re harming our trees with dryness, we’re endangering their health,” said Casey.

“Trees and vegetation become more susceptible to disease, to pets, and they can die off. Particularly in an urban environment, we really need that vegetation. Trees and vegetation cleans our air out and improves air quality. It also provides us with a canopy from heat in the urban heat island. If we were dealing with rainfall now, if we do get a heavy rain event, we’re kind of at a heightened danger because the ground is so dry that it’ll now be hard for the water to seep in if we get a heavy rain event, which could lead to flash flooding. “ 

For more information on Philadelphia’s drought and its implication on the environment, you can listen to the full EcoWURD episode on SoundCloud below.