drought

Study Warns of Severe Drying in Amazon Rainforest

Study Warns of Severe Drying in Amazon Rainforest

By Brett Wilkins Researchers at the University of Leeds in Britain published new research Tuesday — World Rainforest Day — showing that massive swaths of the eastern Amazon are at risk of severe drying by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced. Analyzing the results of 38 known Amazon climate […]

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    Drought Fuels Conflict in Klamath Basin

    Drought Fuels Conflict in Klamath Basin

    The massive drought parching the American West has reached a (dry) boil in the Klamath Basin along the California-Oregon border as climate change drives conflict between Native American tribes, farmers, regulators, and conservationists. Earlier this year, federal officials shut irrigation outflow gates from Klamath Lake, Oregon’s largest, in order to slow catastrophic salmon die-offs. Those […]

    Climate-Fueled Drought Puts American West in Peril Ahead of Wildfire Season

    Climate-Fueled Drought Puts American West in Peril Ahead of Wildfire Season

    At the opening of the 2020 wildfire season, 3% of California was in extreme or exceptional drought and more than 4% burned. This year, more than 73% of the state faces similar drought conditions. In other parts of the Southwest, juniper trees are dying off at increased rates because of the intensification of a climate […]

    5 Things to Know as Wildfire Season Heats Up

    5 Things to Know as Wildfire Season Heats Up

    By Tara Lohan In early May scientists discovered a plume of smoke wafting from a smoldering sequoia that ignited during 2020’s Castle fire, which set California’s Sequoia National Forest alight last August. The fiery remnant is the result of another too-dry winter in California and an ominous marker for the beginning of the 2021 fire […]

    African Rainforests Are Surprisingly Resistant to Small Changes in Climate, Study Finds

    African Rainforests Are Surprisingly Resistant to Small Changes in Climate, Study Finds

    Aptly called, “Earth’s lungs,” the planet’s two largest swaths of rainforest, in Amazonia and Africa, suck up 15 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions produced by humans. These ecosystems are essential for carbon sequestration and therefore curbing climate change, and while the Amazon rainforest has been the subject of mountains of research, scientists are just […]

    California Gov. Expands Drought Declaration to 41 Counties

    California Gov. Expands Drought Declaration to 41 Counties

    California governor Gavin Newsom expanded an emergency drought declaration from two to 41 of the state’s 58 counties on Monday. About 40 million people, around 30% of the state’s population, now live under a drought emergency that Newsom said is likely to expand. “The hots are getting a lot hotter in this state, the dries […]

    California’s Wildfire Season Is Off to an Early Start

    California’s Wildfire Season Is Off to an Early Start

    Fire weather is coming early to California this year. For the first time since 2014, parts of Northern California are seeing a May “red flag” fire warning due to dry and windy conditions. “It’s crazy, May and a red-flag warning,” Craig Clements, San Jose State University Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center director, told The Mercury News. […]