Unprecedented March heat wave in SoCal has experts worried about what comes next
Los Angeles Times • • general
Key Points:
- Southern California has experienced extreme weather events in the past 15 months, including destructive wildfires, a wet holiday season, and a record-breaking March heat wave, all linked to climate change according to UC climate scientist Daniel Swain.
- Climate change intensifies heat waves by warming the atmosphere, leading to longer-lasting and more severe heat-trapping weather patterns across large regions from Southern California to the Great Plains.
- After a wet winter eliminated abnormal dryness in California for the first time in 25 years, the state is now seeing a return of dryness in Northern California, risking a reentry into drought conditions without significant precipitation.
- The pattern of alternating heavy rainfall and extreme dryness, driven by a warmer atmosphere, contributes to more intense fire
