The trends presented in the third edition of the report, Indicators of Climate Change in California, serve as evidence that climate change is continuing to occur in California and is having significant, measurable impacts on the state and its people. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Gavin Newsom said. That’s a double whammy when it comes to the hydrological balance … Since the mid 20th century, climate scientists have tracked these global warming trends and attributed them largely to human activity on the planet. By Amy Brady | Friday, January 15, 2021. Updates on California's emissions laws, clean-air battle, and environmental policies. As rain patterns change, forests will become drier and susceptible to more frequent and intense fires. The climate of California varies widely from desert to alpine depending on latitude, elevation and how close the area is to the coast.Most of the coastal and southern parts of the state have a Mediterranean climate with somewhat rainy winters and dry summers. “I’m only sorry that in 1989, I could not get an audience for what I wanted to communicate,” said Jim Hansen, a retired NASA researcher and early climate change scientist, of testimony he made to Congress about the issue. The California Climate Credit is part of California’s efforts to fight climate change. “It was just rip-roaring hot,” said Lindsey, who has forecast weather along the Central Coast since 1991. Climate change is already contributing to increased air pollution, deforestation, ocean acidification, more wildfires, droughts, heat waves and sea-level rise, which threaten our health, our livelihoods and our future. Climate change appears to beDiffenbaugh et al. With so many fires burning, millions of people in the Bay Area, Central Valley and parts of Southern California are breathing dangerous levels of particle pollution. The new numbers come as the insurance industry struggles to adjust to the effects of climate change. Send messages or documents privately using the Signal smartphone app: (213) 421-1511‬. Air quality officials said the high pollution readings were a result of intense heat combined with stagnant weather conditions. Climate change, health, and California’s Indian Nations Shasta Gaughen, Ph.D., Pala Band of Mission Indians. We all need to play a part in successfully increasing energy efficiency, embracing clean energy and supporting clean technology. FBI searches home of Huntington Beach far-right extremist who posted about attending the Capitol riot. “People who have lived in California for 30, 40 years are saying this is unprecedented, it has never been this hot, it has never been this smoky in all the years I’ve lived here.”, Los Angeles suffers worst smog in almost 30 years. The latest one caused a wildfire, Kamala Harris says nation will ‘find a moment’ to celebrate inauguration amid pandemic grief. The same study further projected that the frequency and magnitude of both maximum and minimum temperatures would likely increase as a result of globa… “The baselines we’ve used for decades no longer apply. The COVID-19 pandemic has added an additional layer of complexity at a time when Californians are trying to protect their homes, lungs and bodies from threats that seem to be coming from all sides. As one 1988 internal Shell Oil Co. document noted, “by the time the global warming becomes detectable it could be too late to take effective countermeasures to reduce the effects or even to stabilize the situation.”. Smoke and haze from wildfires hovered Thursday over San Francisco, as much of California was blanketed in smoke from a siege of wildfires and poor air quality. Gavin Newsom suspended air quality rules on power plants and other polluters to ease strain on the grid, allowing more emissions to sully the air. "If climate change hasn't affected us personally yet it will, and it's projected in 80 years to affect food supply farming, coastal cities and wild fires," she said. It doesn’t take much to make a huge difference if all of us get involved. Ten years after the passage of AB 32, California extended and strengthened the limit on greenhouse gas emissions with the passage of SB 32 in 2016. "If climate change hasn't affected us personally yet it will, and it's projected in 80 years to affect food supply farming, coastal cities and wild fires," she said. If you think that investing in solar panels and a sustainable wardrobe instead of fast fashion are expensive, take a look at how climate change is escalating the cost of repairing disasters. Climate change is real but it's not the end of the world. Besides fighting the effects of climate change, our collective efforts can boost our local economy by keeping clean-energy investments, jobs and innovation in California. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are released into the air. It’s easy to see why we love living in California. Five climate pressures—warming temperatures, shrinking snowpack, shorter and more intense wet seasons, more volatile precipitation, and rising seas—affect all … By taking bold action California is a leader on climate change. The FBI searched the Huntington Beach apartment of a far-right extremist who previously claimed to have attended the Capitol riot. In California, our biggest areas of individual impact are related to reducing our energy use in homes, cars and businesses, while better leveraging the cleaner energy resources available across the state. The pandemic has fueled pet adoptions, “one of the few silver linings to COVID,” one animal rescue official says. “That’s why, I think, you keep reading quotes from these firefighters who say they are seeing fire behavior unlike anything they’ve seen before,” he said. That’s because hotter weather speeds up the photochemical reactions that turn pollutants from vehicle tailpipes and other sources into ozone, the invisible, lung-damaging gas in summer smog. As rain patterns change, forests will become drier and susceptible to more frequent and intense fires. There really isn’t a normal anymore.”. California wildfires map: What’s burning now. In a matter of weeks, California has experienced six of the 20 largest wildfires in modern history and toppled all-time temperature records from the desert to the coast. An overview from the Union of Concerned Scientists Hot and saturated air doesn't allow sweat to evaporate as quickly and causes the body to heat up even more, which can be deadly. When it comes to wildfires, “what we’ve had in California over the last three to four weeks is unprecedented in our historical experience,” Diffenbaugh said. If every American home replaced one incandescent light bulb with a new ENERGY STAR energy-saving LED bulb, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that we could save enough energy to power three million homes for a year, save about $680 million in annual energy costs and eliminate nine billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Climate patterns are changing, in California and across the planet. What precisely is driving changes such as elevated smog levels can be hard to tease out in the middle of an extreme event because so much is happening at once, with multiple hazards piling on top of each other in a vicious feedback loop. California’s lands provide an important resource in limiting the impacts of climate change while protecting our communities from climate change-driven events such as wildfire, floods, droughts and extreme heat. Climate Change and California’s Water Managing water is at the forefront of climate change adaptation in California. Bad forest management, combined with human behavior — intentional and unintentional starting of fires — have contributed to the problem. “An extreme heat event that would have been 100 degrees is now 102.5 or 103 degrees, and that is actually a pretty big difference in terms of the impacts on people.”. Climate change: California wildfires 'can now happen in any year' By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website A number of state agencies engage in intergovernmental climate cooperation coordinating activities through the Intergovernmental Climate Action Team (ICAT). The deserts in the south of the state have very hot summers and mild winters. “People may not directly connect local air pollution to global climate change, but they are intertwined,” said Zhu. While global climate models are incredibly useful for understanding climate change on global and continental scales, they are too low in spatial resolution to help us understand climate impacts on smaller scales, particularly in areas like the Los Angeles region, whose complex topography creates microclimates that a global climate model cannot account for. California has taken legislative steps in the hope of mitigating the risks of potential effects of climate change in California by incentives and plans for clean cars, renewable energy, and pollution controls on industry. Memoir, poetry, and climate change in Felicia Luna Lemus' 'Particulate Matter' By Amy Brady | Jan 15, 2021 A deeply penetrating and philosophical look at the author's experiences living through California's record-breaking 2020 wildfires and the attendant grave illness of a loved one. Climate Change in the San Joaquin Valley. Climate change will affect tree survival and growth, reducing these lands’ productivity and changing their habitats. And the record heat, fires and pollution all have one thing in common: They were made worse by climate change. California’s lands provide an important resource in limiting the impacts of climate change while protecting our communities from climate change-driven events such as wildfire, floods, droughts and extreme heat. Climate change appears to beDiffenbaugh et al. “In a world without climate change, it still would have been a hot August; we still would have had some fires. The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit (1.14 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. “We have seen the rapid warming of California summers really turbocharge the type of conditions that are suitable for rapid growth of wildfires,” Hausfather said. Specifically in California, extreme heat waves — like the ones of recent weeks — are now 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer due to climate change. Trump retreats from his job, and Pence fills the void as ‘acting’ president. They are known locally as Santa Lucia winds and can increase temperatures by 5.5 degrees for every 1,000 feet they descend. That’s Biden’s plan. We have to find ways to work together to make real, substantive changes to protect what we have today and preserve our natural resources for future generations. Their efforts are being hindered by rising temperatures from climate change, according to air quality experts. Assessment Overview. A 2011 study projected that the frequency and magnitude of both maximum and minimum temperatures would increase significantly as a result of global warming. SACRAMENTO – Recognizing that climate change poses not only a clear and immediate environmental risk but also a financial risk to long-term investment stability, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the Department of Finance has released the California Climate Investment Framework, which integrates the climate risk strategies of the state’s three largest pension funds into … The Creek Fire, in the Sierra National Forest in California, has burned hundreds of thousands of acres. And that’s because the conditions are ripe, and temperature plays a large role.”. These fires will add even more carbon to the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change. California is being pushed to extremes. Five climate pressures—warming temperatures, shrinking snowpack, shorter and more intense wet seasons, more volatile precipitation, and rising seas—affect all aspects of water management. Now, with Joe Biden and Democrats taking power, no state is more influential in setting a policy agenda. “If the writing isn’t on the wall, then I don’t know what to tell folks.”. Los Angeles County had its hottest temperature on record when Woodland Hills hit 121 degrees Sept. 6. The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is convening a virtual scientific workshop to inform the next update of the Indicators of Climate Change in California report, scheduled for release in 2021. It was no coincidence that ozone pollution levels in downtown Los Angeles spiked to their highest levels since the mid-1990s on a day in which temperatures reached an all-time high for the county, said Cesunica Ivey, an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside who studies air quality. Their convergence is perhaps the strongest signal yet that the calamity climate scientists have warned of for years isn’t far off in the future; it is here today and can no longer be ignored. And increasingly extreme statements by activists undermine environmental progress, say climate scientists. California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment (Fourth Assessment) advances actionable science that serves the growing needs of state and local-level decision-makers from a variety of sectors. But the heat and dryness have absolutely set the table for widespread fire activity.”Dreadful air quality The recent heat spells, for instance, both fueled smog formation and led to power outages. Since the 1980s, government and oil industry scientists have been anticipating the events that have transpired across the state this past month. China, WHO should have acted faster to stop COVID-19 pandemic, panel says. Meeting California’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions remains a priority for the State, especially given updated climate impact results from the Fourth Assessment. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Key Findings. In addition, climate change makes forests more vulnerable to fires by increasing temperatures and making forests and brush drier. In California, officials have tried a series of rule changes … The Trump administration is seeking to stop California from imposing those rules, even after The evidence for rapid climate change is compelling: Global Temperature Rise. As deadly wildfires rage across California's wine country, leaving at least 29 dead and a trail of destruction in their wake, the influence of climate change is again being questioned. Each of the extremes Californians are living through right now is fueled, at least in part, by the gradual warming of the planet, which is accelerating as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. In California, the climate change issue is inextricably tied to questions of socioeconomic and racial injustice and inequality. In achieving these goals, we’ll also enjoy the benefits that come with being early adopters of a clean-energy future. A number of state agencies engage in intergovernmental climate cooperation coordinating activities through the Intergovernmental Climate Action Team (ICAT). Nor is it the case that California’s fires have “grown more apocalyptic every year,” as The New York Times reported. Those added emissions are only going to get worse as the severity and frequency of fires increases. What Is Climate Change? But it’s clear that climate change has made things notably worse,” he said. Column: Complaints about movers soar as millions relocate because of the pandemic. The state’s natural and working lands sustain our economy, support our unique biodiversity and contribute to the global food supply. We can expect more frequent and longer heat waves, and drier summers. UC Davis White Paper Re-Examines Methane’s Role in Climate Change, and How California Dairy Can Achieve Climate Neutrality DAVIS, Calif., Sept. 2, 2020 – Researchers from the University of California, Davis are rethinking methane and showing that climate neutrality is within reach for the California … Farmworker Communities Under Fire & Heat: Climate Justice Learnings Maricela Morales, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) Disproportionate impacts of climate change on communities Amee Raval, Asian Pacific Environmental Network. The global rise in temperatures observed over decades is also occurring locally, she said, “and these frequently occurring heat waves, this upward trend in basin-wide average temperature, is contributing to ozone exacerbation.”, Rarely have so many Californians been exposed to such gloomy, unhealthy air. Ivey, of UC Riverside, said she and other scientists aren’t surprised to see so many extremes hitting simultaneously, “but to see it playing out is scary.”, “It’s one of those moments where ozone converged with record acres burned and a heat wave,” she said. “This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. During the mid-August heat wave, Death Valley soared to 130 degrees, one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth. Climate change is also causing more humid heat waves. team of international scientists projected that during the next 100 years, third United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, As one 1988 internal Shell Oil Co. document noted, spiked to their highest levels since the mid-1990s, ‘Gender reveals’ are all the rage amid COVID-19. Major, a German shepherd, will become the first White House shelter dog. Wildfires, blackouts, anger: California shows us the future of climate change The damage we’ve done through greenhouse gas emissions is not something we can turn off. Anthropogenic climate change is commonly debated as a driver of these recent wildfire changes, but there are many ways in which anthropogenic climate change could conceivably affect wildfire and many variables that wildfire in California is sensitive to. Studies show that ozone levels are about two parts per billion higher than they would be without global warming. This time last year, California saw 4,927 fires that burned 118,000 acres, Gov. climate change and increased California wildfire activity to date. Climate Change Scoping Plan. But the California we love is threatened. Climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme autumn wildfire conditions across California, the study said. But the effect of climate change is real and growing. augustus 20, 2020 4:17 pm Thousands of lightning strikes have sparked hundreds of fires across California in recent days, producing several major clusters burning around the San Francisco Bay Area. now add weight to the accumulating evidence that anthropogenic climatic changes are already influencing the frequency, magnitude, and duration of drought in California.increasing the likelihood of a large-scale atmospheric pattern that yields warm, dry weather in California. The atmosphere acts like a greenhouse, which is why these emissions are called greenhouse gases. Scoping plan. The new numbers come as the insurance industry struggles to adjust to the effects of climate change. “If we think of the atmosphere as a giant sponge that’s always trying to extract water from the landscape, then temperature increases the sponginess,” he said. Energy Upgrade California® is making it easier for you to reduce your carbon footprint by providing you with a variety of ways to save energy and water. CA. In an executive order late Monday, Hilda Solis, chairwoman of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, directed county health officials to make COVID-19 vaccination appointments available to residents 65 years of age and older beginning Thursday. “With the way greenhouse gases are increasing, in my mind, there’s no doubt that we’re causing this. Climate patterns are changing, in California and across the planet. The state raised its goal for greenhouse … Photo by @mettelampcov. So I’m concerned about the future. CARB Scoping Plan Page; Renewables Portfolio Standard. Global warming has increased the odds of unprecedented heat extremes across more than 80% of the planet and “has doubled or even, in some areas, tripled the odds of record-setting hot events” in California and the Western U.S., said Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh. 2020 tied for the hottest year ever recorded, but disasters fueled by climate change set it apart. News tips? Climate change is contributing to California’s fires Dry seasons are intensifying, increasing fire risk. Southern California regulators have seen decades of progress fighting smog stymied in recent years by hotter weather and stronger, more persistent inversion layers that trap pollution near the ground. Antonio is about to take a sip of cold bottled water, after arriving home from a long day’s work in the pistachio fields. Assessment Overview. At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, it reached 120 degrees, the highest reading since record-keeping began in 1869, in an area that is less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Susanne Rust is an award-winning investigative reporter specializing in environmental issues. ©2020 California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission. California’s comprehensive plan outlining the state’s approach to achieving its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, including SB 32’s goal of reducing emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Climate change is almost certainly fueling California’s massive fires. ‘Cinderella story for a dog’: Bidens’ shelter pet gives adoption trend a boost. California is leading the way. There are things each of us can do to minimize our environmental impact. In 2020, there have been 7,606 blazes thus far. “They are two sides of the same coin.”. It’s human activity that’s causing this. With President Trump isolated in the White House since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Vice President Mike Pence increasingly fills the void in their waning days in office. Carbon dioxide isn’t harmful at natural levels, but too much can act like a layer of plastic wrap around the Earth that lets in heat from the sun but doesn’t let it escape. Memoir, poetry, and climate change in Felicia Luna Lemus' 'Particulate Matter' By Amy Brady | Jan 15, 2021 A deeply penetrating and philosophical look at the author's experiences living through California's record-breaking 2020 wildfires and the attendant grave illness of a loved one. John Lindsey, a marine meteorologist with Pacific Gas and Electric, said the mercury rose to unprecedented levels in San Luis Obispo due to hot, downslope winds blowing from the northeast. Darker oranges and reds suggest up to a 10-fold increase in potential area burned. Another ferocious heat wave over the Labor Day weekend brought Death Valley-like heat to other areas. “The state can either pursue energy intensive climate adaptation measures such as desalination or develop a portfolio of measures that maximize water conservation potential. As soils become drier, heat waves become more intense. The data in this climate tool display the projected increase in potential area burned given three different climate models and two different scenarios. That cascading effect, in which one extreme compounds another, is a feature of global warming that experts have long warned about. Learn how to make your house more energy efficient and comfortable through home improvement measures, and start lowering your utility bills here. And when autumn winds kick in, as they have this week, the flames break loose. CA. Sea levels are predicted to rise up to eight feet over the next 100 years. Research by Diffenbaugh and colleagues that was published last month found that the number of days with extreme wildfire weather in California has more than doubled since the early 1980s, primarily due to warming temperatures drying out vegetation. In California, much of the state’s energy still comes from our dependence on fossil fuels like natural gas and oil. Why some older people are getting the vaccine in Southern California but others are striking out. Your utility and municipality may also provide rebates and other resources to help you take action. Why there are oil wells all over Southern California. John Abatzoglou, associate professor in the Department of Management of Complex Systems at UC Merced, agreed. Climate Change and California’s Water Managing water is at the forefront of climate change adaptation in California. Key Findings. And the record heat, fires and pollution all have one thing in common: They were made worse by climate change. California is being pushed to extremes. Forest and rangelands cover over 80% of California’s 100 million acres. No other state in the U.S. can match what California offers in terms of natural beauty, miles of coastline and idyllic weather. “California has a choice in how it wants to adapt its water sector to the impacts of climate change,” Deshmukh stated. It will take effort and dedication from every Californian and company doing business here. Antonio is about to take a sip of cold bottled water, after arriving home from a long day’s work in the pistachio fields. California’s Climate Change Assessments contribute to the scientific foundation for understanding climate-related vulnerability at the local scale and informing resilience actions, while also directly informing State policies, plans, programs, and guidance, to promote effective and integrated action to safeguard California from climate change. News and analysis of the fight against climate change in California. Since the mid 20th century, climate scientists have tracked these global warming trends and attributed them largely to human activity on the planet. California could take further action by codifying an ambitious midcentury greenhouse gas reduction target to ensure continued momentum on climate action. By Amy Brady | Friday, January 15, 2021. This could cause significant flooding and erosion of hundreds of miles of coastline, greatly impacting homes, agricultural lands and low-lying cities. The Creek Fire, in the Sierra National Forest in California, has burned hundreds of thousands of acres. Specifically in California, extreme heat waves — like the ones of recent weeks — are now 3 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer due to climate change. Cantua Creek, San Joaquin Valley. “We can see how warm and dry years catalyze these fires,” he said, adding, however, that for fires to start, “they need to have ignitions. So the impact is cumulative and maybe even synergistic to each other.”. Tony Barboza is a reporter who covers air quality and the environment with a focus on Southern California. “When you add COVID, extreme heat, wildfires and air pollution all together, they’re all detrimental to public health, and it just makes things worse,” said Yifang Zhu, a professor of environmental health sciences at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health who studies air pollution and its effects. In 2001, a team of international scientists projected that during the next 100 years, the planet’s inhabitants would witness higher maximum temperatures, more hot days and heat waves, an increase in the risk of forest fires and “substantially degraded air quality” in large metropolitan areas as a result of climate change. Smartphone app: ( 213 ) 421-1511‬ 's outsize influence over automobile sales traditionally... 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