Facts Of The Day 8/04

Extreme Heat

• Virginia’s next governor will have to address the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, flooding concerns, and increased energy demand to heat and cool homes.

• Water recycling has increasingly gained traction in newly constructed buildings.

• Clark Public Utilities in Washington plans upgrades after energy consumption measured at 19,632 megawatt-hours on June 28th, the hottest day of the late June heatwave.

• Warming rivers in California threaten the state’s $1.4 billion commercial salmon fishing industry as the hotter temperatures are killing the fish.

  • The decline in fish has led to a spike in the price of salmon at $35 per pound.

  • One fisherman who said he could usually catch 100 fish a day was now lucky if he could catch 80.

• Under a new order, 86% of farmers who rely on water from the San Joaquin and Sacramento river watersheds in California may not be able to take water for their crops.

  • These watersheds drain off 40% of California’s lands and provide water for two-thirds of the state’s nearly 40 million residents.

• The drought in California is forcing one cattle rancher to sell off 30% to 40% of his herd of 600 cows and calves.

• Excessive heat, wildfires, smoke, and drought will cause one cherry farm in Montana to lose their crop from at least 1,200 unpicked cherry trees.

• The June heatwaves may have killed off up to 40% to 50% of crop yields for Oregon farmers.

• As many as 900 manatees have died in Florida waters this year, as their food supplies have been killed off by years of algal blooms.

• Manatee County in Florida has cleared out 10 tons of dead fish over the past week because of the red tide.

• Neighborhoods in Durham, North Carolina that are predominantly Black are potentially 1.7 times hotter than neighborhoods that are predominantly white.

• On Tuesday, Denver Colorado saw its 30th day in a row of bad air and 43rd day overall.

• Fairbanks, Alaska, broke a daily high temperature at 88 degrees on Monday.

• Boise, Idaho had its warmest July on record with an average temperature of 83.8 degrees.

  • The city had a 45-day streak of temperatures above 90 degrees, which was the second-longest streak on record.

• Eugene, Oregon, had the second-warmest July on record with an average temperature of 71.4 degrees.

Wildfires

• There are currently 96 large wildfires that have burned 1,883,541 acres across AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MN, MT, NV, SD, UT, WA, and WY.

• 3 new large fires were reported across Hawaii and Oregon and 2 large fires were reported contained on Tuesday.

• As 95% of the western United States is in drought as of Tuesday, the risk of large fires remains high through at least August.

• Wildfires threaten saguaros, which are already imperiled by invasive species and have been in a population decline since the 1990s.

• Wildfires in the western part of the United States have caused poor air quality in the Midwest, including Indiana.

• In California, PG&E’s equipment may not have been only responsible for the Dixie Fire but may have also caused the Fly Fire as well.

• In California, the Dixie Fire burned 254,466 acres and was 35% contained as of Wednesday. The Dixie Fire has become the 8th largest wildfire in California in modern records.

• One new fire sparked in Hawaii on Tuesday –  the Mana Road Fire burned 40,000 acres and was 60% contained.

• One fire was contained in Idaho on Tuesday – the Deer Fire burned 856 acres.

• One fire contained in Montana on Monday – the Poverty Flats Fire burned  65,941 acres.

• Washington farmers fear wildfire smoke could stunt the growth of crops including corn, berries, squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins.

Hurricanes

• Tropical Storm Hilda was located nearly 1,900 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii with maximum sustained winds of 50 MPH as of Wednesday morning.

  • Hilda is forecast to further weaken into a tropical depression on Thursday and become a remnant low by Friday, with no threat to land.

• Tropical Depression Ignacio was located east of Hilda and was moving at maximum sustained winds of 25 MPH as of Wednesday.

  • Ignacio is expected to lose definition on Wednesday and will not bring any significant impact to the land.

Climate Studies