Drought — Marshall Islands, Guam

2022-03-01 to 2022-03-31 · Marshall Islands, Guam

Event narrative

The Extreme Drought (D3) that developed across the Northern Marshall Islands near and north of 9N at the end of January continued through March. The islands includes, but is not limited to, Wotje, Ailuk, Mejit, Wotho, Utirik, Maloelap, Ebadon, Namu, Jabot, Aur. From March 1-24, Wotje recorded 1.80 inches of rain, the first month with over an inch of rain since December of 2021, and out preforming February's total of 0.05 inches. Across northern Marshall Islands, most catchments are very low. Some wells are salty. Groundwater is being utilized for cooking, drinking, washing and bathing but recent rains may have filled some catchments adequately. Vegetation is still brown with some plants absent of leaves. Some fruits are dropping prematurely. Some islands have reverse osmosis units, but many are still inoperable. The Marshall Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) supplied new batteries for Wotje's reverse osmosis unit last month. The NDMO's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster continues to survey the northern islands and focus attention to islands most in need.

Wider weather episode

Extreme Drought Continues for the Northern Marshall Islands, while Severe Drought starts to improve for Northern Chuuk Islands.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1023598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.