Tag Archive for: Climate Change

2020 May Be The Hottest Year On Record. Here’s The Damage It Did

/in , /by /Cap Radioby Rebecca Hersher and Lauren Sommer

With just a few weeks left, 2020 is in a dead-heat tie for the hottest year on record. But whether it claims the top spot misses the point, climate scientists say. There is no shortage of disquieting statistics about what is happening to the Earth. The hottest decade on record is coming to a close, with the last five years being the hottest since 1880. 2020 is just two-hundredths of a degree cooler than 2016, the hottest year ever recorded.

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Drought, Climate Change and Groundwater Sustainability — Western Water Year in Review

/in , /by /Water Education Foundation (Western Water)by Douglas E. Beeman

The ability of science to improve water management decisions and keep up with the accelerating pace of climate change. The impact to precious water resources from persistent drought in the Colorado River Basin. Building resilience and sustainability across California. And finding hope at the Salton Sea.

These were among the issues Western Water explored in 2020. In case you missed them, they are still worth taking a look at.

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Colorado River Basin Winter Forecast Signals Dry Times Ahead

/in , /by /KUNCby Luke Runyon

All signs are pointing to a dry start to 2021 across much of the Colorado River watershed, which provides water to about 40 million people in the Western U.S.

A lack of precipitation from April to October made this spring, summer and fall one of the region’s driest six-month periods on record. And with a dry start to winter, river forecasters feel more pessimistic about the chances for a drought recovery in the early part of 2021.

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Battling America’s ‘Dirty Secret’

/in , /by /The Washington Posstby Sarah Kaplan

To Catherine Coleman Flowers, this is “holy ground”: the place where her ancestors were enslaved and her parents fought for civil rights and she came of age. Here, amid the rich, dark earth and emerald farm fields, she is home.

Yet this ground also harbors a threat, one that will worsen as the planet warms.

For decades, the people of this rural county 30 miles south of Montgomery have struggled with waste. Municipal sewage systems do not extend to this farming community, and many residents cannot afford septic systems; their waste flows directly into ditches or streams. Even those with septic tanks find that they often fail in the dense, waterlogged soil. On rainy days, toilets won’t flush and foul effluent burbles up into bathtubs and sinks.

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November 2020 Was Second Hottest November on Record

/in , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Erik Anderson

The nation’s climate scientists say November was warmer than usual, and it was yet another month in a pattern of rising global temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracks global temperatures and researchers say the warming trend is continuing.

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Drought Keeps Lake Mead Levels Low, But There is Plenty of Winter Left

/in , /by /KJZZby Ron Dungan

Last week’s storm did little to ease the drought in Arizona’s reservoirs. But there’s still plenty of winter left.

The Bureau of Reclamation makes two-year projections, based on weather and water levels in Colorado River reservoirs, and its most recent projections have been dire.

That could set the stage for an Arizona water shortage in 2022. Snowpack in the mountains is now 69% of normal, but Patti Aaron, a spokeswoman for the bureau, says a little snow could go a long way.

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Santa May Not Need the Heavy Red Coat When He Visits Southern California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

Santa might be able to lose the heavy red coat when he makes his rounds in the Southland, and he probably won’t need an umbrella either.

The extended outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration favors above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation in the Los Angeles region from Dec. 24 through Dec. 30.

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San Diego Might Not Receive Significant Rainfall During December

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

It’s possible that San Diego County won’t receive significant rainfall during December, which would significantly elevate the wildfire danger throughout the region, according to the National Weather Service.

“The storms that have been forming off the Pacific Northwest are not dropping into Southern California,” said Dan Gregorio, a weather service forecaster.

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Groundwater Beneath Your Feet Is Rising With the Sea. It Could Bring Long-Buried Toxins With It

/in , /by /KQEDby Laura Klivans

Rising seas can evoke images of waves crashing into beachfront property or a torrent of water rolling through downtown streets. But there’s a lesser-known hazard of climate change for those who live along shorelines the world over: freshwater in the ground beneath them creeping slowly upward. For many Bay Area residents who live near the water’s edge, little-publicized research indicates the problem could start to manifest in 10-15 years, particularly in low-lying communities like those in Oakland, Alameda and Marin City.

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Ongoing Litigation Muddies State’s Water Outlook

/in , /by /AgAlert (California Farm Bureau Federation)by Christine Souza

Amid long-term forecasts indicating California could be headed into another dry winter, discussions at the California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting focused on current and future water policy and the challenges facing short- and long-term supplies.

During a breakout session as part of the virtual Annual Meeting, Ernest Conant, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regional director for the California-Great Basin Region, described how regulatory constraints have affected water allocations from the federal Central Valley Project.

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