More rain but getting drier? Climate study explains

Ajouté : 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]New research out of the UK shows many parts of the world are receiving more rainfall than in years past.

[00:00:06]>> But that does not necessarily mean we're getting wetter. Meteorologist Cody Matz is here to explain, the science guy.

[00:00:12][music] Hey Cody. Yeah, good morning.

[00:00:13]It's a little weird, but new research confirms that the world is experiencing more rainfall, but many areas are actually getting drier at the same time.

[00:00:22]It's so weird one. The results of the study were recently published in nature.

[00:00:26]It's a peer-reviewed British journal.

[00:00:28]Now, this is what we often refer to was kind of a feed feedback loop. So there's a laundry list of evidence that confirms rainfall is increasing in many areas across the globe, but this new study shows that the added rainfall is not distributed evenly through the year. The rain is getting packed into bigger storms that produce even heavier rainfall. And then there are longer dry spells between those particular storms.

[00:00:51]Now, heavier rainfall at one time causes excessive runoff as it overwhelms what the soil can actually absorb. Less absorption means a drier soil overall, especially as the drier periods are now getting longer. So when it rains, it pours even harder, and that excessive rainfall then runs off into ecosystems and waterways. While that can temporarily replenish and swell some of those waterways, the water itself is then more readily available to evaporate from the warmer temperatures and the long dry periods that follow, and then the whole process starts all over again with the next heavy rain event. So here's a map that kind of shows the areas across the globe that have had the largest impact based off of global precipitation records from 1980 to 2022. The blue areas are more impact, while the brown areas have less of an impact. A lot of the US is included in that larger impact, especially out west, as well as much of South America. Both of those are largely impacted with more rain in fewer events, while the poles, especially as you get into the Arctic regions of Russia, Canada, and Alaska are actually experiencing less of an effect with a similar increase to both rain and rain events. Okay, so what does this whole thing mean for the average person? Well, it's not just your imagination.

[00:02:05]Minnesota has dealt with wild swings in both drought and flash flooding of the last few years, and both are likely to become even more common in the years ahead. But a bigger issue associated with this shows that the management of public water supply will get increasingly more difficult as it could become a lot more erratic in the years and decades ahead.

[00:02:25]>> why we continue to harp on water conservation. You don't let the faucet run too long. You don't let the sprinklers run too long because essentially drinking water and water itself in our ground is about the most valuable resource we have, and we need to treat it appropriately. And all the farmers out there said, "Amen." Uh-huh.

[00:02:44]Yes, they did. Yeah. All right. Thank you, sir.

[00:02:46]>> Yeah.