News
Record drought gripped much of the U.S. in 2022
The large coverage and long duration of drought conditions across the U.S. set several records in 2022. The year was also marked by numerous severe weather events, devastating hurricanes and deadly flooding across parts of the country.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
State of Play
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.