Compared to Distribution

an indicator guage with the arrow in the green the value is in the best half of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the yellow the value is in the 2nd worst quarter of communities.

an indicator guage with the arrow in the red the value is in the worst quarter of communities.

Compared to Target

green circle with white tick inside it meets target; red circle with white cross inside it does not meet target.

Compared to a Single Value

green diamond with downward arrow inside it lower than the comparison value; red diamond with downward arrow inside it higher than the comparison value; blue diamond with downward arrow inside it not statistically different from comparison value.

Trend

green square outline with upward trending arrow inside it green square outline with downward trending arrow inside it non-significant change over time; green square with upward trending arrow inside it green square with downward trending arrow inside it significant change over time; blue square with equals sign no change over time.

Compared to Prior Value

green triangle with upward trending arrow inside it higher than the previous measurement period; green triangle with downward trending arrow inside it lower than the previous measurement period; blue equals sign no statistically different change from previous measurement period.

green chart bars Significantly better than the overall value

red chart bars Significantly worse than the overall value

light blue chart bars No significant difference with the overall value

gray chart bars No data on significance available

Weeks of Moderate Drought or Worse

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Measurement Period: 2021

Filter: none (all Counties)

This indicator shows the number of weeks per year in which there was moderate drought or worse according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Why is this important?

Droughts have many consequences for health. Droughts can reduce air quality and compromise the health of people with certain conditions, such as asthma, by increasing the amount of airborne particles, such as pollen and smoke. Addition, drought increases the risk of people catching the fungal infection valley fever and increases transmittal of diseases spread by insects, such as West Nile virus. Further, reduced rainfall can limit the growing season for farmers and also create conditions that damage crops, which can increase food prices or cause shortages of certain healthy foods.

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