MAINE PUBLIC • August 29, 2025
Drought expanded in Maine again in the last week of August, with about 1.2 million people are living in at least abnormally dry conditions. It took about a month for the state to go from having almost no areas with drought to 87% of the state in at least abnormally dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Maine Climatologist Sean Birkel said the drought's severity is driven by a warming climate. Short-term drought is fairly common in the Northeast, according to Birkel. But hotter weather is intensifying dry conditions, he said, pointing to a heat wave in mid-August that made the drought worse.