Strange recent flooding in Death Valley, California.the hottest place on the planet could be just a small example of what some scientists fear will happen to the state to a much greater degree, with consequences nothing short of catastrophic.
The study, published on the Science Advances website and broadcast by CNN and others, aims to warn the public about a potential mega-flood never seen before in this region of the United States that will swamp large areas of California, devastating cities and affect millions of people.
The study, titled “Climate Change Raises California MegaFlood Risk,” was conducted by Xingying Huang and Daniel L. Swain, the latest climate expert who works with UCLA.
“We believe that climate change has already doubled the likelihood of an event that could cause catastrophic floods.but due to continued warming, larger increases in the future are possible,” the authors say in the introduction to the study.
A severe storm scenario could be 400% higher than historical values in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range that runs through eastern California where snow accumulates and accumulates, they said. then falls, becomes water that wets the big cities.
Atmospheric rivers could cause weeks of heavy rain in California
Summarizing the study, it is said that a series of atmospheric rivers that are common in California, fueled by water vapor produced by the Pacific Ocean, will bring consecutive torrential rains for several weeks. in the Sierra region.
The water will not turn to snow due to warmer than usual weather and will flow directly into the lowlands of the state. The area most affected will be the giant Central Valley, where entire cities such as Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield will be flooded.
The Central Valley, which plays a key role in the country’s agricultural production, will become a real sea within California. But the authors say that Los Angeles and Orange counties, where the largest concentration of people in the state, will also suffer from terrible flooding and destruction..
The study clearly shows that megafloods have happened in California before, such as in 1861-1862 when the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys were converted into areas with up to 30 feet of water left. In this case, atmospheric rivers provided rain for 43 days in the Sierra.
Scientists believe that such events can now occur every 25-50 years.
The difference is that there are now many more people in the state that will be affected, and also that the higher the temperature in the atmosphere, the more precipitation.
Warming increases the frequency of megafloods
As part of the discussion, the study authors say their analysis goes beyond their own recent work to show that climate change dramatically increases the frequency and strength of extremely violent storm sequences capable of causing megafloods in California.
“Our analysis indicates that the probability of the historically rare accumulation of 30-day precipitation now (2022) has already increased substantially and that even a slight further increase in global warming will lead to a larger increase in the probability,” they write.
“Ultimately, one of our goals is not only to understand these events scientifically, but to help California prepare for them,” says Swain, one of the study’s authors. “The question is when it will happen, not whether it will happen”.
Source: La Opinion
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