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While Already Scorchers, World Deserts Could Get Even Hotter

The world is becoming a warmer place, and according to research conducted by a group of scientists from the University of California in Riverside and Los Angeles, already scorching hot deserts are expected to get much hotter in the near future. The results published in the Climate Change Report for California shows how by mid-century, average daily temperatures in the deserts of Southern California could soar well above current values, and that would most likely be the norm across many other deserts around the world. Average daily high temperatures have already increased between 8 and 9°C this century, and if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise at the current rate, the impact on California, and other desert regions of the world in a similar situation could spell trouble.

Soot-Filled Rivers A Concern Following Wildfires

During the record-breaking 2018 fire season, the typically clear waters of Cameron Falls in Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta flowed black. But it had nothing to do with the extensive fires that torched much of British Columbia and a small part of Waterton. The carbon came from the remnants of another wildfire that had raced 26 kilometres — from one end of the park to the other — in less than eight hours the year before. Heavy rain from a violent thunderstorm in July 2018 flushed the ash, soot and blackened debris that lay on the forest floor into the Cameron River.

Southwest Drought Worsens As Hot June Weather Arrives

June is here and the heat is on across many areas of the southern U.S., including the Four Corner states. Despite some recent precipitation, which helped lower drought numbers in some counties, overall conditions continue to intensify and expand. Rivers and watering holes across different areas of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico are drying up, forcing the closure of popular mountain recreation areas. Water restrictions are becoming the norm across the region.