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A developing El Niño is forecast to become unusually powerful this winter, which could hold major implications for California’s water supply, reservoirs and flood risk.

The odds of a “very strong” El Niño—defined by exceptionally warm sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific—have increased dramatically as the event develops. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) latest outlook, released Thursday, shows a 75 to 81 percent chance of a very strong event between November and January, the heart of California’s wet season.

Michelle Dugan-Delgado has had asthma for as long as she can remember. It’s why she always takes an inhaler and face mask with her when she leaves the house — just in case the wind picks up and a dust storm hits.

“I know that it’s not safe for me to go outside,” she told DW. “It’s like I live in a bubble. I have to really protect myself.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom is putting his stamp on the powerful agency overseeing California’s biggest water fights — and racing to get his pet projects across the finish line before his term ends.

Jared Blumenfeld, Newsom’s former CalEPA secretary, took his seat for the first time Tuesday on the five-member State Water Resources Control Board days after Newsom appointed him to replace Laurel Firestone, the environmental justice advocate who stepped down last month to “pursue other opportunities” in water.

The El Paso City Council on Monday reviewed a presentation from El Paso Water addressing water infrastructure planning for Northeast El Paso and projected water use at Meta’s data center site amid community concerns about the project’s impact.

Since Meta announced plans to build the data center, residents have continued to raise concerns about the project’s impact on nearby neighborhoods. KTSM previously reported that some residents who live near the site have already reported changes. They reported increased noise, dust, and bright lights from ongoing construction.

Lake Powell, US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak snowpack failed to raise its water level, scientists and water experts have said, adding renewed urgency to stalled talks over how to conserve a water source depended on by tens of millions of people in the US south-west.

The 185-mile Colorado River reservoir currently stands at about 23% of its capacity, or roughly 5.6m acre-feet. Lake Powell fell below that level for a few months three years ago. But those 2023 levels were recorded in the winter, when the reservoir straddling the Utah-Arizona border hits its lowest ebb. Spring runoff carried the level back up to 9.6m acre-feet by June, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation.