Tag Archive for: Climate Change

Third Consecutive Dry, Warm Winter Projected for San Diego Amid Statewide Drought

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Jacob Aere Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Even with the recent wet weather in San Diego County, climate change is rapidly accelerating in California, according to a new state report.

Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, explained how that can affect the state’s water supply.

“Our long term deficits are still significant in Southern California and especially in Northern California. And the overall water supply being at its lowest state on record for the Colorado system and near record lows even for California,” Tardy said.

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Annual Average Air Temps Have Increased About 2.5 Degrees Statewide, Report Says

/in , , /by /ABC10by Brody Adams

The effects of climate change are already quite prevalent in the state, as seen by the all-time record-high temperatures and devastating wildfires experienced in recent years. A new report, released by California state scientists, shows that the effects of climate change are rapidly accelerating in California. The report from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment found that since 1895, annual average air temperatures have increased by about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit statewide and cases of heat illness have tripled in the past 30 years.

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Climate Change is Rapidly Accelerating in California, State Report Says

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

Wildfires, drought, extreme heat and other effects of climate change are rapidly accelerating and compounding in California, according to a report from state scientists.

The fourth edition of “Indicators of Climate Change in California,” released Tuesday, paints a stark picture of the escalating climate crisis and documents how global reliance on fossil fuels has had wide-ranging effects on the state’s weather, water and residents.

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As Climate Change Erodes Western Snowpacks, One Watershed Tries a ‘Supershed Approach’ to Shield its Water Supply

/in , , /by /Western Water (Water Education Foundation)by Nick Cahill

The foundation of California’s water supply and the catalyst for the state’s 20th century population and economic growth is cracking. More exactly, it’s disappearing.

Climate change is eroding the mountain snowpack that has traditionally melted in the spring and summer to fill rivers and reservoirs across the West.

Now, with less precipitation falling as snow and that snow melting faster and earlier in parts of major mountain ranges like California’s Sierra Nevada and the Rockies in the West, managers of a major Sierra Nevada watershed east of Sacramento are replumbing their water systems to better handle bursts of rain instead of trickling snowmelt. Their “Supershed Approach” to replace the loss of the once-reliable snowmelt is being touted as a possible model for other Western watersheds that are expected to experience stronger, more frequent snow droughts.

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New Push to Shore up Shrinking Colorado River Could Reduce Water Flow to California

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

With the nation’s two largest reservoirs continuing to decline, federal officials announced plans Friday to revise their current rules for dealing with Colorado River shortages and pursue a new agreement to achieve larger reductions in water use throughout the Southwest.

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U.S. Warns Western States It May Impose Colorado River Water Cuts

/in , , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta

The U.S. government warned on Friday that it may impose water supply cuts on California, Arizona and Nevada to protect the Colorado River and its two main reservoirs from overuse, drought and climate change.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation unveiled three possible action plans: one to impose cutbacks, another to allow western states to work out a reduction plan on their own, or a third and least likely option of taking no action.

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Recycled Water May Prove Crucial for Northern California Amid Ongoing Droughts, Climate Change

/in , , /by /KQEDby Ezra David Romero

The San Francisco Bay Area is far behind Southern California in reusing water. Policy experts say it could take decades for the state’s second-most populous region to catch up — the lower half of the state recycled 83% more water than the Bay Area last year.

Standing outside Google’s Bay View campus in Mountain View in early August, wearing a pool-blue collared shirt and a gray blazer, California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot pressed the state’s northern region to do more.

“If you spend time in Orange County, there’s a chance that you’re consuming purified water that’s been recycled,” he said. “We need to expand water recycling throughout the Bay Area.”

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UC San Diego Launches Two Projects on the Impact of Climate Change on Coastlines and People

/in , , /by /UC San Diego Today

The University of California San Diego has received two five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling $6.6 million to fund research hubs in Southern California and Puerto Rico.

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United States of Megadrought

/in , , /by /Politicoby Arianna Skibell

Drought has engulfed large swaths of the country, threatening parts of the nation’s food and power supply. And it’s getting worse.

More than 80 percent of the continental U.S. is experiencing unusually dry conditions or full-on drought, which is the largest proportion since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began tracking 20 years ago.

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Opinion: We Must Wake Up to the World’s Water Crisis

/in , /by /The Hillby Tara D. Sonenshine

Amid a tidal wave of bad news – from inflation and the war in Ukraine to climate change and divisive politics – there is one story that might trump all others in importance, and yet it receives the least sustained global attention: water.

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