Man-made climate change is not the source of California’s water woes.
I guarantee that some people will read those 11 words and dismiss anyone who utters them as a climate change denier or at least a member of the Flat Earth Society.
But the science and history are absolutely clear that when it comes to our water supply we are basing our solutions on the wrong facts.
Devastatingly large wildfires followed by intense precipitation events will grow in frequency as the effects of climate change become more widespread and entrenched, a study published Friday has found.
The American West has long been susceptible to landslides and flooding that afflict areas recently scorched by wildfires. The fire destroys vegetation that stabilizes slopes and prevents large-scale erosion while exposing more of hillsides and riverbanks to the ravaging effects of intense rain.
A heatwave was bringing unseasonably high temperatures to California on Thursday, sending sun-worshippers to the beach, but also sparking a brushfire.
Forecasters issued a heat warning for the most populous US state through to Sunday, warning the mercury could hit a height-of-summer 90 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) in Los Angeles, well above the average for winter.
California, in common with much of the western United States, is enduring a historic drought and wild swings in weather that scientists say is exacerbated by man-made climate change.
“If you warm the planet, you’re going to break heat records,” said geographer Justin Mankin of Dartmouth College.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
