Tag Archive for: Wildfires

After the Blazes: Poisoned Water and ‘a Flood on Steroids’

Historic wildfires raging from California to Colorado are weakening watersheds and setting the stage for deadly mudslides and flooding and, in some places, threatening to poison critical water supplies.

La Niña is Back. What Does That Mean for California’s Drought?

La Niña conditions were observed in the Pacific Ocean last month, and there is a 75% chance the weather pattern will persist through the winter, forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Opinion: Wildfires and Soaring Temperatures — the Hellscape Scientists Warned Us About is Here

After an extended weekend of wildfires, part of an early fire season that has already seen a record 2 million acres burned and Death Valley-like temperatures smothering the San Fernando Valley, Californians would be right to wonder whether we are living in a hellscape. We are not, it’s safe to say. But we are living in the future that climate scientists have been trying to warn us about for years now.

UN Report: Increased Warming Closing in on Agreed Upon Limit

The world is getting closer to passing a temperature limit set by global leaders five years ago and may exceed it in the next decade or so, according to a new United Nations report.

In the next five years, the world has nearly a 1-in-4 chance of experiencing a year that’s hot enough to put the global temperature at 2.7 degrees (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial times, according to a new science update released Wednesday by the U.N., World Meteorological Organization and other global science groups.

As California Burns, the Winds Arrive and the Lights Go Out

New wildfires ravaged bone-dry California during a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200 people trapped by flames and ended with the state’s largest utility turning off power to 172,000 customers to try to prevent its power lines and other equipment from sparking more fires.

California Legislature’s End-of-Session Scramble Leaves Environment Bills on Cutting Room Floor

Monday at midnight marked the deadline for California lawmakers to pass bills out of the Legislature. But in a session replete with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice and wildfires, numerous bills were left to die on the cutting room floor.

Among them was the majority of the environmental agenda in what some legislators, environmentalists and public health advocates labeled a disappointment.

California to Let Gas Plants Stay Open as Time Runs Low for Climate Action

State officials threw a lifeline to four fossil fueled power plants along the Southern California coast, deciding the facilities are still needed to provide reliable electricity even as they contribute to the climate crisis.

Tuesday’s vote by the State Water Resources Control Board to let the gas plants keep operating past the end of this year followed brief rolling blackouts over two evenings last month, as a heat wave caused air conditioning demand to soar, and California found itself short on electricity supplies.

Solana Beach Resolution Declares Climate Emergency, Need for More Action

In response to the adverse impacts of heatwaves, wildfires, sea level rise and other issues stemming from climate change, the Solana Beach City Council approved a resolution declaring a climate emergency and calling for accelerated action to address the crisis.

“Solana Beach would directly experience these impacts that include warming temperatures, increased wildfires, sea level rise and variable water supply,” Rimga Viskanta, a senior management analyst for the city of Solana Beach, said during the council’s Aug. 26 meeting.

West Coast Wildfires, Gulf Coast Hurricanes: How Climate Change Connects These Extreme Events

In Northern California, crews labored Thursday to control megafires sparked by a rare barrage of lightning strikes.

Across the country, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall overnight in Louisiana, destroying buildings and toppling powerlines with unrelenting winds and rain.

Climate Change Hits Home in Colorado with Raging Wildfires, Shrinking Water Flows and Record Heat

Climate change hit home in Colorado this week, exacerbating multiple environmental calamities: wildfires burning across 135,423 acres, stream flows shrinking to where state officials urged limits on fishing, drought wilting crops, and record temperatures baking heat-absorbing cities.

This is what scientists, for decades, have been warning would happen.