Challenging Long-Standing Climate Assumptions: Earth Is Getting Hotter, but Soil Is Getting Wetter

Study indicates that changes in rainfall patterns, rather than shifts in temperature, account for trends in soil moisture.
Soil moisture levels play a crucial role in influencing the speed at which wildfires expand, the rapidity with which hills transform into mudslides, and, notably, the efficiency of our agricultural systems. With the ongoing increase in temperatures attributed to anthropogenic climate change, there is a growing apprehension among scientists that soil conditions might become drier. Yet, interestingly, from 2011 to 2020, there was an observed increase in soil moisture across 57% of the United States during the summer months, traditionally the hottest period of the year.