Via Drought.gov: “The research-based website NationalSoilMoisture.com provides high-resolution gridded soil moisture products derived from in situ soil moisture measurements, Natural Resources Conservation Service SSURGO soil characteristics, and PRISM data. The project combines data from multiple federal, regional, and state agencies to create comprehensive data products for the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. These products include near real-time soil moisture percentiles derived from in situ data, modeled NLDAS data, and the NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite, as well as a near real-time blended product.  This project is a joint effort between the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Center for Integrated Data Analytics (CIDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  It is one of the key exploratory research projects under the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network.”

See also AP: “Worldwide temperatures briefly exceeded a key warming threshold earlier this month, a hint of heat and its harms to come, scientists worry. The mercury has since dipped again, but experts say the short surge marked a new global heat record for June and indicates more extremes ahead as the planet enters an El Niño phase that could last years. Researchers at the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said Thursday that the start of June saw global surface air temperatures rise 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels for the first time. That is the threshold governments said they would try to stay within at a 2015 summit in Paris…”