Report Reveals Increasing Effects of Climate Change in CA

Climate change doesn’t slow down for anything, and it seems that is especially true in California. A recent article published in the LA Times cites a new report which reveals that climate change is accelerating in California.

The report, Indicators of Climate Change in California, comes from the California Environmental Protection Agency. The report paints a gloomy picture of California’s climate crisis.

“Rising temperatures were among the report’s starkest findings, with annual average air temperatures in California increasing by about 2.5 degrees since 1895 and warming at a faster rate beginning in the 1980s. Eight of the 10 warmest years on record occurred between 2012 and 2022, and temperatures at night have increased by almost three times more than daytime temperatures.”

The new report added how the rise in temperature is affecting other environmental issues.

“The warmer conditions have affected water availability in the state by causing more precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, the report says. Extreme heat events and heat waves — both of which have increased in frequency — are also leading to more heat-related illnesses and greater energy strain in order to provide cooling. Low-income communities and people with underlying health conditions are particularly at risk.”

The report also discussed California’s historic drought, the increase in wildfires, and the detrimental effects these changes have had on humans and wildlife.

The full 700 page report can be read here. We strongly recommend reading the LA Times article as it does a good job of summarizing the key points.

CAPS has been chronicling California’s climate woes for years. After a summer of particularly extreme climate change related weather phenomena, we can’t say this is entirely surprising.

As we’ve recently pointed out, California barely avoided rolling blackouts during a record breaking heat wave this past summer.

California also just recorded its driest three years on record. A recent report we blogged about also chronicled the vicious cycle of how wildfires are getting in the way of California reaching its carbon emissions goals.

Many environmental groups will highlight what’s happening and push for policies that mitigate the issue. As the LA Times report mentioned, Gov. Newsom is allocating billions to new measures to combat climate change.

Of course, the difference between us and most environmental advocates talking about climate change, is that we’re willing to point out the role overpopulation plays in this crisis.

As Earth is set to hit 8 billion people this month (333 million in the United States), it’s getting harder and harder to ignore this reality. In California, our current climate change woes make that abundantly clear. Until we discuss that issue, we can’t see anything changing in the near future.