Hays ? Although the Palmer Drought Index shows no severe drought in Kansas, the state needs to be concerned about the long-term implications of global warming, climatologist John Heinrichs said.

The index indicates no drought problem at all in the eastern two-thirds of the state, while the western third is rated as having only moderate drought.

Heinrichs, an assistant professor of geosciences at Fort Hays State University, tracks climate patterns. He said the United States was experiencing regionalized drought, something he hadn’t seen often. While the western part of the nation is suffering extreme drought, excessive rains have caused flooding in the Midwest.

And a study of long-term averages and ranges shows that 2003 should be a wetter year than this year.

“When we have strong El Nino conditions, we have years where we get more rainfall,” Heinrichs said.

Kansas is heading into one of those rainy cycles toward the end of the year, Heinrich said.

Still, Heinrichs said, global warming was a real concern because a lot of factors can contribute to drought, including temperature and precipitation and the factors that control temperature and precipitation.

“If we start acting responsibly now, we can minimize the effects of what will be years from now.” Heinrichs said.

He added that people can help generations down the road by reducing the activities that require burning fossil fuels that put carbon dioxide into the air. That would include reducing energy consumption, using clean energy such as wind and solar power and turning the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer.