California hit by record rain and heavy snow months after severe fires
Extreme weather conditions have yet again ravaged the most populated state in the US, as California is hit by record rainfall and heavy snow just months after a summer of severe fires and drought.
Snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada this week, while a storm system brought record rainfall that caused mudslides in southern California and prompted evacuations.
Flooding also affected various counties, including the city of Los Angeles.
Strong winds of up to 75 miles per hour buffeted various areas of the state, while daily maximum rainfall records were broken in Santa Barbara and Palmdale, according to the US National Weather Service.
Despite the deluge, a large part of California is likely to remain locked in an official state of drought, experts forecast. The very dry conditions have persisted across parts of the state for years.
“It will take more than a few storms or even a wettish season to break the extreme multiyear drought most of the watersheds in California are experiencing,” said Daniel Griffin, an assistant professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota.
At least some of the state has been declared as being in drought in all but 10 weeks of 2021. Despite this month’s rain, 28 per cent of California experienced “exceptional” drought conditions, the most severe level, in December, according to US Drought Monitor.
Acute water shortages in the summer prompted officials to impose a host of emergency measures to restrict usage.
That followed a summer of rampaging fires and record-breaking heat in California, extreme conditions that countries including Canada and Greece also suffered.
Intense rain and flooding can occur “in the midst of a drought, without a major impact on the long-term water balance,” said Griffin, adding that it could be difficult to precisely pinpoint the start and end of a drought.
The series of extreme weather events that occurred around the world in quick succession this year focused the attention of governments, business and civil society groups on the worsening threats from climate change.
Scientists expect extreme weather to become more frequent and intense as the planet warms further towards an estimated trajectory of 2.7C by 2050, based on UN scientific forecasting. Temperatures have already risen an estimated 1.1C since pre-industrial times due to human activity.
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