Tag Archive for: Climate

First Rain of Season Unveils a New Pollution Problem: Masks and Gloves — Pandemic PPE

/in , , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Kurtis Alexander

The Bay Area’s first rain of the season is washing away worries of wildfire and drought. But it’s also bringing a new concern: gobs of face masks flooding San Francisco Bay.

Early season storms typically sweep a slurry of debris from streets and sidewalks into rivers, creeks and bays. This year, the fall flush not only contains the usual gunk, waste experts say, but a whole lot of discarded PPE — or personal protective equipment, the detritus of the pandemic.

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Seeing Clouds Clearly: Are They Cooling Us Down or Heating Us Up?

/in , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn

Though scientists know that clouds are critical to the climate system, their exact role is still uncertain. New studies are starting to fill in the knowledge gap.

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It Will Feel Like Fall ‘Quite Suddenly’ Next Weekend in the L.A. Region. Will There Be Rain?

/in , , /by /The Los Angeles Timesby Paul Duginski

The Los Angeles region will be warm, dry and breezy next week, with a significant cool-down next weekend, the National Weather Service said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s temperature outlook favors below-normal temperatures for much of the West from Nov. 6 to 10.

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Disasters Waiting to Happen: 5 Major Infrastructure Projects in Need of Repair

/in , , /by /Construction Diveby Kim Slowey

There’s nothing quite like an infrastructure disaster to get the American public’s attention, whether it is the discovery of a drinking water system with dangerous levels of lead in Flint, Michigan, or a near-catastrophic dam failure in Oroville, California.

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Ahead of Rain, Beaumont Plans for Unprecedented Flooding

/in , , /by /Patch.comby Renee Schiavone

It won’t take much, and the Pass Area as we know it may look dramatically different come wet weather this fall and winter. That’s according to public safety officials from various Riverside County agencies who are working to get the word out about the danger of “flood after fire.”

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Opinion: We Need to Rethink Our San Diego Coast to Deal With Sea Level Rise Before it’s Too Late

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union Tribuneby Richard D. Norris

The recent wildfires and a coming dry winter from the developing La Niña amplify the perils of climate change for our fair city. These threats do not stop at the shore — holding back the ocean should also be on our radar.

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A Bold Plan to Protect 30% of Colorado Lands and Waters by 2030

/in , , /by /The Colorado Sunby Jason Belvin

Conservationists in Colorado are dreaming big. In a time of political turmoil and legislative impotence, a consortium of Colorado conservation groups is floating an audacious plan to conserve 30% of the land in the state — roughly 20 million acres — by 2030. Since statehood, the state has protected only 6 million acres.

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FEMA Ends Policy Favoring Flood Walls Over Green Protections

/in , , /by /E&E Newsby Thomas Frank

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has taken a dramatic step to encourage communities to use environmentally friendly features such as wetlands for flood protection instead of building sea walls and levees. A new FEMA flood policy released late last month with no public announcement is drawing praise from environmentalists because it will promote mitigation projects that provide environmental benefits in addition to flood protection.

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La Niña and California’s New Water Year

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

It’s that time of the year in California, when water managers, climatologists and meteorologists look at the factors that determine what the winter will bring during Water Year 2020-21 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said that La Niña conditions are present in the tropical Pacific, “with an approximately 85% chance of La Niña lasting through the winter.” Forecasters currently think this La Niña will be on the stronger side. For California, those conditions typically mean a drier winter, with increasingly dry conditions heading into 2021.

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UN: Climate Change Means More Weather Disasters Every Year

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Jamey Keaten

In the wake of heat waves, global warming, forest fires, storms, droughts and a rising number of hurricanes, the U.N. weather agency warned Tuesday that the number of people who need international humanitarian help could rise 50% by 2030 compared to the 108 million who needed it worldwide in 2018.

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