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Transcript/ScriptCalifornia Floods - Climate Change
HEADLINE: California Lurches From One Climate Extreme to Another
PUBLISHED: 1/25/2023 at 10am
PLATFORMS: SOCIAL _x__ WEB _x__ TV__x_
STANDALONE GRAPHIC ___ PAIRS WITH WEB STORY ___
WRITER/PRODUCER: Steve Baragona
SCRIPT EDITOR: Sharon Shahid; caw
VIDEO SOURCES: AP, Reuters, AFP, courtesies
TRT: 2:50
APPROVED BY: MAS
EDITOR NOTES: ))
BLURB: Nine major storms in three weeks have left 20 people dead and caused widespread flooding in California. This follows years of drought that helped fuel devastating wildfires. Both extremes show the influence of climate change.
(FOR TV SHOWS: Steve Baragona explains.)
((NARRATOR))
California has gone from one climate extreme to the other. Nine major storms in three weeks have left 20 people dead and widespread flooding. The severe weather follows years of drought that helped fuel devastating wildfires.
Around the world, dry extremes are becoming drier and wet extremes wetter as a result of climate change.
More than twice as much rain as normal has fallen on San Francisco so far this season. Los Angeles has seen nearly three times as much.
Rainstorms are becoming more intense in California and around the world, says University of California, Davis hydrologist Helen Dahlke. ((pron. DAHL-kuh))
((Helen Dahlke, University of California, Davis)) ((Mandatory CG: Zoom))
"As we are warming the atmosphere on Earth, we are giving that atmosphere a greater capacity to absorb more water vapor. And eventually that water vapor will fall as precipitation somewhere."
((NARRATOR))
Flooding has not been Californians' main concern recently. Drought has. The state has been in some degree of drought for most of the century.
Droughts are worsening for much the same reason as storms are getting worse: Warm air holds more water.
((Helen Dahlke, University of California, Davis)) ((Mandatory CG: Zoom))
"Dry air that is warmer will try to suck out more moisture from the ground. And that also means that our precipitation we get in California might not reach as far as it used to in the previous years. It takes more precipitation to wet up these soils again, to wet up that vegetation."
((NARRATOR))
Precipitation has not changed that much in California. Temperatures, however, are considerably warmer.
So, the same amount of rain will leave the state drier.
California grows more than a third of America's vegetables and three-quarters of the nation's fruits and nuts. Farmers have turned to pumping groundwater to keep their crops going. Now, two-thirds of the state's wells are below normal, and one in five is at an all-time low.
((Helen Dahlke, University of California, Davis)) ((Mandatory CG: Zoom))
"With the last three years being very dry again, we've seen huge declines in groundwater levels. And this will take more than one year of precipitation, or above average precipitation, to change that trend."
((NARRATOR))
Even with the flooding, the drought is not necessarily over.
Last year's rainy season started strong, too.
((Helen Dahlke, University of California, Davis)) ((Mandatory CG: Zoom))
"And then in January the tap was shut off. And then we had three months of more or less no precipitation."
((NARRATOR))
Plus, the state gets much of its water from neighboring Nevada, which the storms barely affected.
((NARRATOR))
It's more important than ever to hold onto rain when it falls. So, when they can, water managers in some areas flood dormant fields and let the water soak in and recharge the groundwater.
((Helen Dahlke, University of California, Davis)) ((Mandatory CG: Zoom))
"Those wet years — and we only get them maybe every five to seven years — they are rare, and we have to bank as much water as we can because again, the next drought could just be around the corner."
((FOR TV SHOWS ONLY. Outcue: ...around the corner.))
That was Steve Baragona reporting.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
California
Embargo DateJanuary 25, 2023 18:22 EST
BylineSteve Baragona reporting
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
