The US nationwide drought, severe in Florida and other Southern states, has created conditions resulting in numerous wildfires; and what used to be the California and Western states’ wildfire story is being repeated, in part, in America’s Southeast. If you live here, as I do, you see this situation evolving every day. Here’s a recent post from @US_Stormwatch, depicting Florida’s drought conditions as of mid-April:
https://x.com/US_Stormwatch/status/2044595510431072613/photo/1.
The US Forest Service fire map for Florida as of Tuesday, April 28, depicts how that severe drought is translating to wildfires.
The drought map from US Drought Monitor captures how expansive and severe the drought actually is across the country.
Of course, if you ask budget hatchet man Russell Vought, a lead author of Project 2025 and the person who is dismembering all the climate- and weather-mitigation functions of the federal government; or if you ask Lee Zeldin at the EPA, who is trying to repeal all previous federal climate initiatives, each will tell you that human-caused global warming is a hoax.
These two are downright dangerous in their views. Each of us will pay the price in higher insurance costs and greater wind, storm surge, and flooding damage; and those who find themselves in the way of a fire or hurricane may lose their homes or their lives.
The real story is available. Look at the details reported by the Sarasota-based Climate Adaptation Center (CAC), and you’ll find all the reasons to refute the fallacious Vought-Zeldin arguments. Furthermore, the annual hurricane forecast by CAC is sobering, as are the recent warnings that this summer’s El Nino may be the worst (strongest) in years. Note, too, that the oceans are hotter, and the heating of the oceans is deeper than in any measured earlier time.
Next thing you know, the Thwaites glacier will detach in Antarctica, and up sea levels will go — by more than two feet.
The CAC hurricane forecast can be found here:
“The CAC 2026 Hurricane Season Forecast: What You Need to Know,” Climate Adaptation Center,
https://www.theclimateadaptationcenter.org/2026/04/23/the-cac-2026-hurricane-season-forecast-what-you-need-to-know/
And here’s the piece I wrote in March about the EPA and heat:
Nero’s Rome burned — three quarters of the city was destroyed. America is burning now.
Further Reading
“Climate Change Is Already Showing Up in the Cost of Living” | Bloomberg,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-24/climate-change-is-already-making-the-affordability-crisis-worse“Florida wildfire map shows over 100 active fires Sunday. Here’s where” | Jacksonville.com, Florida Times Union (paywall),
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2026/04/26/florida-fires-burn-ban-wildfire-map-air-quality-city-weather-clay-county/89808613007/
“The E.P.A.’s Lost Science” | Climate Forward Newsletter (4/28/2026), New York Times (paywall),
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/climate/the-epas-lost-science.html
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