UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain quoted widely on California’s ongoing drought
March 16, 2021Daniel Swain (climate scientist with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability) was quoted in a number of news outlets providing his perspective on California’s recent and ongoing drought issues.
As drought conditions worsen for California residents, scientists emphasized that these conditions may be the new normal. The latest report from the federal drought monitor notes that drought exists in some stage in approximately 95% of California.
Most recently, Swain tells Axios in a perspective piece, “Even when the rains return, the temperatures are not going to go back to what they used to be. The overall scarcity problem, especially in the West, is not going away.”
Additionally, Swain contributed to a recent Cap Radio interview highlighting the severity of this issue. Northern California is experiencing their driest of two years on record and the state is joining a year-long regional drought according to Swain.
“The drought is still worse over Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah than it is in California,” he explained. “But it’s a pretty broad and expanding drought right now across most of the West. In some cases, it’s quite severe.”
“It’s not just how hot are the heat waves; it’s how hot is it the rest of the time,” Swain said. “What really matters is the sustained warming and drying over seasons and years.”
Read More in Axios and Cap Radio.
Additional Coverage:
As SoCal Slides Into a Drought, Much Needed Rain is in the Forecast. KTLA. January 21, 2021.
‘Mega-miracle’ will be needed to overcome dry February in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times. February 20, 2021.