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Curiously cool summers in US Midwest linked to crop irrigation

For 75 years, the US Midwest has experienced unexpectedly cool summer temperatures – the “warming hole” could be due in part to intensive agriculture

By James Dinneen

7 September 2023

Wheat harvesting in Kansas

Wheat being harvested in Culver, Kansas

Arin Yoon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Large parts of the US Midwest have seen average temperatures cool slightly since the 1950s, due in part to farmers growing more crops and pumping more water for irrigation. But climate change may eventually overwhelm this “warming hole”, with implications for crop yields in one of the world’s major breadbaskets.

For decades, climate researchers have puzzled over since the late 1950s. Average temperatures in the region saw a small decline, even as global average temperatures rose due…

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