Affects of Climate Change Archives

Double Whammy: Heat, Toxic Algae Bedevil Water Sector

One of the two rivers flowing into the heart of Iowa that provide 500,000 residents with drinking water is slowly being infiltrated by toxic algae as temperatures climb.

The other river is drying up and dipping to dangerously low levels as a historic drought grips the United States.

The Hawkeye State’s plight underscores why climate change is seen as a threat multiplier for the drinking water sector — from cratering water levels and drought to floods and extreme weather. And then there are toxic algal blooms that can kill fish, foul water, and threaten human and ecosystem health.

Full Story

NOAA Warns of Water Use Cutbacks, Fires and Low Levels in Reservoirs Amid Significant Drought

March 23, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Hillby Celine Castronuovo

Dry weather is likely to persist in the U.S. in the coming months, with the possibility of water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest as more than half of the country experiences moderate to severe drought conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

NOAA’s Spring Outlook report stated that the U.S. could face the most significant spring drought since 2013, with the potential to impact roughly 74 million people across the country.

Full Story

Ignoring Mega-Flood Risk — Like California Did With Wildfire Prevention — May Spell Disaster, Experts Say

November 16, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Cap Radioby Ezra David Romero

The Sacramento region is not prepared for a mega-flood and won’t be for nearly a decade, says Rick Johnson, executive director of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

Full Story

People Around the World are Helping Scientists in the Fight Against Climate Change by Photographing This Year’s Incredible, Extreme High Tides

February 12, 2020/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Business Insiderby Sophia Ankel

A few times every year, a network of volunteer photographers try to capture so-called “king tides”, which affect several coastal communities around the world.

The group’s aim is to document how high the waterline gets and where the water goes so that the images can be used by scientists, city planners, and policymakers to study and prepare for the effects of climate change.

The photos reveal where flooding can occur on specific roads as well as where it is safe to build new housing.

Full Story

World Unprepared For Impact of Climate Change On Mountain Water Supplies: Experts

October 29, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Reuters by Emma Farge and Cecile Montavani

The world faces increased flooding, droughts and possible conflicts due to the effects of climate change on fresh water supplies drawn from mountains but is “woefully unprepared” to tackle these risks, experts said.

Mountain-sourced water supplies, which provide about half of all drinking water worldwide, is becoming more unpredictable as warmer temperatures melt glaciers and change precipitation patterns and river levels, affecting countries unevenly.

In some areas, such as the Alps, extra water from glaciers has caused flash floods while shrinking snow cover in the Andes has led to droughts in places like Chile.

Full Story

Climate Change Making Stronger El Ninos, Study Finds

October 21, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /ABC Newsby Seth Borenstein

Climate change is making stronger El Ninos, which change weather worldwide and heat up an already warming planet, a new study finds.

Scientists examined 33 El Ninos — natural warming of equatorial Pacific that triggers weather extremes across the globe — since 1901. They found since the 1970s, El Ninos have been forming farther to the west in warmer waters, leading to stronger El Ninos in some cases.

A powerful El Nino can trigger drought in some places, like Australia and India. And it can cause flooding in other areas like California. The Pacific gets more hurricanes during an El Nino and the Atlantic gets fewer.

Full Story

How Does Climate Change Affect Mountainous Watersheds That Give Us Our Water?

September 30, 2019/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Berkeley Labby Christina Procopiou

The image of huge chunks of ice breaking away from glaciers and ice sheets, then floating out to sea in Earth’s most remote places, may be the most iconic symbol of a warming planet. And while most people will never see these familiar phenomena up close, what’s happening within some of the iciest settings still affects people and regions thousands of miles away.

Ecologist Heidi Steltzer, a Fort Lewis College professor and member of the Department of Energy’s Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA) project led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, studies how reduced snowpack and earlier snowmelt caused by climate change impact water supply in high-mountain areas..

Full Story

Climate Change: Strengthening Atmospheric Rivers

September 19, 2019/in Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /ABC 10 San Diegoby Megan Parry

Ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit next week, 10News is diving deeper into the affects of climate change. Climate change is leading to more dangerous and deadly wildfires and so often after fires scorch the ground in the fall, the heavy winter rains in atmospheric rivers lead to mudslides and flooding.

The scary reality is that these types of storms are going to get stronger. According to Alexander Gershunov, a research meteorologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, “we know for certain that atmospheric rivers are going to get stronger in the future, in a warmer atmosphere more water vapor can be held so atmospheric rivers are basically plumes of very intense concentrated moisture and they just going to get wetter as they get warmer.

Full Story

Posts