California faces crisis during drought, heatwaves, energy losses, and fires

As reported by CNN Weather, Californians are set to experience a heatwave. A statewide Flex Alert was issued stating that people need to cut back their electricity.

“This is one of the things you often see during droughts,” said Jay Lund, an expert in Davis, California. “The bigger cities that have a lot of wealth are very well organized, have a lot of long-term planning, and are pretty well prepared.”

“Droughts have long been a future of the west. But global warming is making things worse with rising temperatures drying things out soils and depleting mountain snowpack that normally supplies water during the spring and summer. Those parched soils, in turn, are amplifying this week's heatwave, creating a blast more severe than it otherwise would be.” Swain describes this saying: “It’s a vicious cycle.” 37.3 million people in California are affected by the drought.

According to Drought.gov, there are five categories of drought: Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate Drought (D1), Severe Drought (D2), Extreme Drought (D3), and Exceptional Drought (D4). Active fires begin at D0. At D1, wildlife patterns start to change. “Trees are stressed; plants increase reproductive mechanisms; wildfires diseases increase,” Drought.gov states. In the D3 category, fires begin occurring in wet parts of the state. For D4, it states, “The fire season is very costly; the number of fires and areas burned are extensive.”