DAILY DIGEST, 11/25: More rain in the forecast; Can desalination quench agriculture’s thirst?; After the Klamath Dam removal, residents grapple with an uncertain future; ‘Elections don’t add water to the river’: Colorado River negotiations forge ahead amid Trump transition; and more …


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In California water news today …

More rain in the forecast Monday and Tuesday

“More rain is in the forecast early this week after a brief reprieve Sunday, but drier weather is expected to return for much of the region by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.  About an inch of rain is expected to fall on the East Bay, San Francisco Peninsula and South Bay and up to two inches expected in Napa, Santa Rosa and San Rafael starting Sunday evening into Tuesday according to NWS forecasts.  Strong winds and up to 3 inches of rain are in the forecast for Monterey, Santa Cruz, Boulder Creek and Corralitos, NWS said in an update Sunday. The agency also warned of minor nuisance flooding in those areas.  “The real chance for the heavier stuff is Monday and Tuesday, but not like what we went through Friday,” said meteorologist Dylan Flynn, with the National Weather Service’s Monterey office. “We may end up with a similar amount of rain as Friday, but that’s spread out over two days.” … ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.

Another atmospheric river to hit California this week. Here’s where rain, snow will be heaviest

“Northern California was blasted by a deadly, record-breaking atmospheric river storm last week, and another one is on the way for the Golden State this week. Central California is bracing for a landfalling atmospheric river Monday morning, which will bring heavy rain and snow until Wednesday. The atmospheric river’s subtropical moisture plume is forecast to aim at San Luis Obispo, with Santa Cruz on the northern boundary and Santa Barbara on the southern end.  Because this week’s atmospheric river is not overlapping with areas that flooded last weekend, no extreme impacts are expected. However, Monterey and San Luis Obispo could record their wettest two-day stretch since last winter. … ”  Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.

SEE ALSO: Northern California weather forecast and updates: How much rain, snow to fall Monday, from KCRA

Traveling in California ahead of Thanksgiving? Expect rain

“After widespread rain across California over the past week — resulting in at least one fatality — weather officials are expecting a reprieve come Thanksgiving.  An atmospheric river storm this week dumped record rain in Northern California, before weakening as it moved down the coast into Southern California. Weather officials say light rain is expected across the region starting Monday and continuing until Tuesday.  “Our biggest concern for this week is people traveling for Thanksgiving,” said Dylan Flynn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “If you’re leaving on Wednesday, you’ll have better odds of staying dry.” … ”  Read more from the LA Times.

Can desalination quench agriculture’s thirst?

“Ensuring the survival of agriculture under an increasingly erratic climate is approaching a crisis in the sere and sweltering Western and Southwestern United States, an area that supplies much of our beef and dairy, alfalfa, tree nuts and produce. Contending with too little water to support their plants and animals, farmers have tilled under crops, pulled out trees, fallowed fields and sold off herds. They’ve also used drip irrigation to inject smaller doses of water closer to a plant’s roots, and installed sensors in soil that tell more precisely when and how much to water.  In the last five years, researchers have begun to puzzle out how brackish water, pulled from underground aquifers, might be de-salted cheaply enough to offer farmers another water resilience tool. Loya’s property, which draws its slightly salty water from the Hueco Bolson aquifer, is about to become a pilot site to test how efficiently desalinated groundwater can be used to grow crops in otherwise water-scarce places. … ”  Read the full story from Knowable.

Undersea pods deployed for energy efficient desalination

OceanWell Water Farm

“Seawater desalination systems are gigantic, expensive, energy-sucking beasts that take up valuable space on seaside coasts. However, they are badly needed — and more of them are needed — in an era when freshwater resources are strained to the breaking point. The challenge is to get more facilities online without putting an unsustainable burden on energy systems and natural habitats, and a California startup has come up with a unique solution. … OceanWell is among the innovators coming up with solutions. As an alternative to building energy-intensive desalination plants on land at the seacoast, the company has developed a modular, pod-like structure that sits about 400 meters (about 1,312 feet) below the surface of the water.  The pods deploy reverse osmosis for desalination, a method commonly used throughout the water purification industry. In reverse osmosis, water is pushed through a semi-permeable membrane, which sorts out contaminants. … ”  Read more from Clean Technica.

Groundwater pumping is causing land to sink at record rate in San Joaquin Valley

“For decades, a costly problem has been worsening beneath California’s San Joaquin Valley: the land has been sinking, driven by the chronic overpumping of groundwater.  As agricultural wells have drained water from aquifers, underground clay layers have compacted and the ground surface has been sinking as much as 1 foot per year in some areas.  New research now shows that large portions of the San Joaquin Valley have sunk at a record pace since 2006.  “Never before has it been so rapid for such a long period of time,” said Matthew Lees, the study’s lead author. … ”  Read more from the LA Times. | Read via Yahoo news.

Sacramento perch: An experiment in unconventional conservation?

“Bluegill, redear sunfish, and largemouth bass: these species are familiar and, for many, elicit fond memories of fishing in warm waters on a hot summer’s day. It is for this reason, and others, that California has introduced these sportfishes, and a myriad of other non-native fishes, into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) since the 1870s. UC Davis Distinguished Professor Peter Moyle states that “the dissatisfaction of early settlers with the native fishes [of California]” motivated these early introductions (Moyle 1976). Unfamiliar to anglers settling in California from the East, the native fishes of California’s Central Valley have historically failed to draw sport anglers, with one exception – the Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus) (Figure 1). However, despite its once-desirable status, it no longer finds itself part of the California sportfishing conversation. They are entirely extirpated from their native range. However, they have avoided total extinction because native fish enthusiasts and anglers intentionally introduced them to non-conventional waterways across the west. … ”  Read more from the California Water Blog.

See the Aurora, Stockton’s sunken cruise ship, in virtual reality

“This ship’s hull is cloud white, marred by mud-colored waterlines from a partial sinking. Its ports sprout the dangling ends of countless hoses.  And in the evening, when the air is still and the tide is just about to turn, the ship sounds like it’s singing.  “The ship” – though lately in Stockton, there may be only one ship everybody’s talking about – is the Aurora.  The vintage cruise ship once promised to become a refurbished piece of history. Then it sank at its mooring in May and started leaking oil and other contaminants into the Delta. … ”  Read more from Stocktonia.

Impact of climate change on water resources will increase price tag to decarbonize the grid

“A new study warns that current plans to achieve zero emissions on the grid by 2050 vastly underestimate the required investments in generation and transmission infrastructure. The reason: these plans do not account for climate change’s impacts on water resources.  Specifically, changes in water availability caused by climate change could decrease hydropower generation by up to 23% by the year 2050, while electricity demand could increase by 2%. Both these phenomena would come together in summer to compound impacts on the grid.  To adapt to these impacts, the Western United States would need to build up to 139 gigawatts of power capacity between 2030 and 2050–equivalent to nearly three times California’s peak power demand, or up to 13 gigawatts in transmission capacity during the same time period. The total additional investment would come with a price tag of up to $150 billion. … ”  Read more from UC San Diego.

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In regional water news and commentary today …

NORTH COAST

After the Klamath Dam removal, residents grapple with an uncertain future

“The first time river guide Bart Baldwin ever dipped a paddle into whitewater, he was rafting Oregon’s Upper Klamath River. “It spoiled me,” recalls Baldwin, who grew up near the river. That initial experience sparked a passion for paddling that Baldwin parlayed into a career that led him across the country—and back to the Upper Klamath, where he’s operated Noah’s Rafting Company since 2008. … But summer 2023 was the last season for the dam-dictated Upper Klamath. JC Boyle and three other Klamath River dams were dismantled between July 2023 to October 2024, and without those timed, high-volume releases, the Klamath no longer offers its famously thrilling whitewater. The river, which had been dammed for over 100 years, has yet to settle into its new normal—and it’s unclear whether it will have sufficient flows to be navigable at all.  Saying goodbye to that income, and to the rapids that inspired Baldwin to devote his life to running rivers, came hard. … ”  Read more from Outside Magazine.

River guides explore transformed ‘New Klamath’ after historic dam removal

“Will Volpert was rafting through a Class IV rapid on the Klamath River, in a canyon few have floated in a century, when something leaped out of the water near his oar blade.   A chinook salmon was thrashing upstream, traveling into habitat that until recently had been blocked since the early 1900s by a series of dams near the Oregon and California state line.   “He totally surprised me,” Volpert said with a laugh. “We’re in the middle of this very technical boulder garden, and I was so distracted looking for him, that we smashed into a rock.”    Despite the smash, the moment captured what’s made exploring the “new Klamath” so fun, said Volpert, a longtime outfitter and guide on the river. After four dams were recently removed, in the largest dam removal project in United States history, an entirely new stream has sprung up in its place. … ”  Read more from the Statesman’s Journal.

SACRAMENTO VALLEY

FERC holds PG&E accountable for 2023 Butte Canal failure

“On November 19, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a letter to PG&E about a major canal break and two blockages in 2023 at its DeSabla-Center Hydro-electric Project on Butte Creek. The canal break had extremely damaging environmental effects. Butte Creek contains the only run of spring-run Chinook in the Central Valley that is considered “viable.” CSPA has been working to protect this keystone run of fish since 2003.  On August 9, 2024, the Butte Creek Canal developed a hole where water entirely breached the structure, caused major erosion and a mudslide down into Butte Creek. The creek turned orange with a massive amount of sediment. California DFW estimates that 51-55 of the estimated 95 documented spring-run Chinook salmon died as a result of the elevated turbidity in Butte Creek. … ”  Read more from the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

BAY AREA

Salmon make way to South Bay creek, draws in crowds

“Storm Chinook Salmon have made their way in big numbers to a South Bay creek.  The salmon have become a huge attraction near downtown Campbell, with people pulling over in their cars and bikes to see the fish.  “I was driving by. And I was wondering what everyone on the bridge was staring at, so I pulled over. I love salmon, and it’s nice to see people excited about it,” said Teresa Carstens of Campbell. … ”  Continue reading from NBC Bay Area.

CENTRAL COAST

Stuck in the muck: Scientists study carbon trapped by Elkhorn Slough

“Smelly and saturated with seawater, the marsh muck sucks at the waders of UC Santa Cruz graduate student Aliya Khan as she walks along a channel in Elkhorn Slough. She places a tube into the water, which will collect samples that will help uncover the salt marsh’s ability to serve as a carbon dioxide vacuum and vault.  Khan’s research is taking place at an important time.  “The year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record,” says the World Meteorological Organization in a press release published earlier this week. It will also be the first year with global temperatures more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a milestone that will intensify fires, floods, and other climate-fueled disasters.  Salt marshes, which have historically been drained and turned into farms or land ripe for real estate development, are emerging as a powerful tool in the fight against global warming. … ”  Read more from the San Jose Mercury News.

As atmospheric river soaks California, farmworkers await flood aid promised in 2023

“After flood waters from heavy rainstorms deluged two small farmworker towns in January 2023, California set aside $20 million each for the communities to rebuild.  Nearly two years later, four-fifths of that aid has not yet been distributed to flood victims of Planada in Merced County, and even less has been distributed in Pajaro in Monterey County.  While county officials and non-profit workers say the slow pace stems from a deliberative planning process and state rules requiring verification of recipients’ residency and losses, a new atmospheric river soaking Northern California is causing anxiety for locals who saw their neighborhoods destroyed once before. … ”  Read more from the Monterey Herald.

Los Osos could get $8 million for pipeline that would bring state water to town

“Los Osos may be in line for an $8 million federal grant to connect the community to the State Water Project that runs to Morro Bay. The water would provide a supplemental source to the town of 14,000, which is now 100% dependent on groundwater wells for drinking water. The money would come from the annual Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) funding through the Army Corp of Engineers, which passed both houses of Congress this summer and is expected to be signed into law, according to a representative from Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office. … ”  Read more from the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Santa Barbara may boost desalination plant funding by $1.8 million

“Despite the desalination plant not meeting annual production goals, the city of Santa Barbara may allocate an additional $1.8 million to the facility operation contract toward labor costs and repairs.  On Thursday, the Santa Barbara Water Commission recommended that the city approve two contract amendments with IDE Americas, which runs the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant.  The first amendment would increase the plant’s funds by an additional $1.87 million per year, bringing the total contract to $4.89 million per year. The second will ask IDE to install a third intake pump for the plant and establish a repair obligation for the equipment. … ”  Read more from Noozhawk.

Ventura water recycling project with swollen costs but big promise gets $60M federal grant

“A Ventura water project with swollen costs has won a federal grant of more than $60 million that city officials say will ease the financial burden on water customers and help cover the expense.  The project received the top award of $60.4 million, almost half the $125 million in funding the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Monday for large-scale water recycling proposals. The five winning projects in California and Utah will help establish new sources of water and improve resistance to drought, federal officials said. … ”  Read more from the Ventura County Star.

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

Brite Lake water level lower than usual due to late irrigation demands

“Brite Lake is lower than forecast or desired, General Manager Tom Neisler told members of the Board of Directors of Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District at their Nov. 20 meeting. The lake, also known as J.C. Jacobsen Reservoir, is located just north of the water district’s office and was built in the early 1970s to hold water that the district imports from the State Water Project. Although the current level is lower than projected, Neisler said there is adequate stored water for fire flow and pressure regulation. … ”  Read more from the Tehachapi News.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Can solar and farming work together to fight climate change in Southern California?

“Can solar panels over farm fields help us adapt to and fight climate change at the same time? That’s what a new study breaking ground next month will explore.  “This study is about agriculture and climate change and how we can create kind of a win-win,” said Susan Phillips, director of the Robert Redford Conservancy at Pitzer College, which is leading the study.  The concept is called “agrivoltaics,” a combination of the words “agriculture” and “photovoltaics” — the process of converting light into electricity.  There are multiple ways to do agrivoltaics, but the basic idea is that instead of stopping farming to make way for solar, elevated solar panels are installed over crops or livestock operations so electricity generation and farming can happen at the same time, and possibly benefit each other. … ”  Read more from the LAist.

Lytton Rancheria of California leads tribal investment in Cadiz Groundwater Banking Project

“Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) (the “Company” or “Cadiz”) announced today that the Company and the Lytton Rancheria of California (“Lytton”) have signed a Letter of Intent for Lytton to invest up to $50 million in the Company’s groundwater banking project in the Mojave Desert (“Mojave Groundwater Bank”). Lytton’s investment would be the first major investment by a Native American Tribe in large-scale water infrastructure off tribal lands in U.S. history.  With 2.5 million acre-feet of new water supply and an estimated 30 million acre-feet of water in storage today, the Mojave Groundwater Bank will be the largest new groundwater bank in the Southwest. … ”  Read more from Yahoo Finance.

IMPERIAL/COACHELLA VALLEYS

The history of the Salton Sea

“The Salton Sea lies in the northern part of the Imperial Valley.  Looking at the Salton Sea now, it’s hard to believe that this was once a beloved resort community. But, the Salton Sea goes way back before it was a tourist destination spot.  The sea wasn’t always filled with water until 1905.  “About a hundred and twenty-five years ago some ingenious wildcatting individuals decided. that they could make this valley into an irrigated farm area and did some speculation on as they did that they promoted the idea that this could be a great productive ground which it is and they started drawing water from the colorado river. they cut a line and into this valley and started to develop land and grow crops and more people came,” Says District’s 1 Board of Supervisor Ryan Kelley. … ”  Read more from KYMA.

SAN DIEGO

City of Oceanside to pay $1.5 million penalty for two sanitary sewer overflows during major storm

“The City of Oceanside agreed to pay $1.5 million to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board for high volume sanitary sewer overflows that occurred during heavy rains at a lift station and wastewater treatment plant, both operated by the city, threatening the health of humans, fish and wildlife.  The overflow at the Buena Vista Lift Station, a collection structure that pumps wastewater to the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility, discharged over 900,000 gallons of untreated sewage to Buena Vista Creek and Buena Vista Lagoon. The other spill occurred at the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility, where approximately 820,000 gallons of sewage were released into the Windmill and Pilgrim creeks and eventually flowed into the San Luis Rey River. Both incidents took place in April 2020. … ”  Read more from the Water Board.

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Along the Colorado River …

‘Elections don’t add water to the river’: Colorado River negotiations forge ahead amid Trump transition

“The policymakers responsible for steering the Colorado River’s future say they will forge ahead with ongoing negotiations regardless of shifts in federal leadership, as a deadline to determine long-term conservation strategies looms near.  “Elections don’t add water to the river,” John Entsminger, Nevada’s lead Colorado River negotiator, told The Hill. “The same problem we were facing on November 4, we’re facing today, and it’s the same problem we’ll be facing into the indefinite future.”  “This river has a track record of working across Republican and Democratic administrations and getting big wins for everyone,” added Entsminger, who is also the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. … ”  Read more from The Hill.

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement

“The seven states that share the Colorado River have a 2026 deadline for a new sharing agreement. The Biden administration this week encouraged them to hurry, in an apparent attempt to limit the incoming Trump administration’s influence.  The Biden administration this week urged the seven states that share the Colorado River to speed up negotiations over its future. KUNC’s Alex Hager says it’s churning up the pressure to have a draft agreement in place before President-elect Trump takes office. … ”  Read more or listen at NPR.

Commentary: Break the logjam on Colorado River water, or 40 million people will lose

Joanna Allhands writes, “These are volatile times on the Colorado River, even if water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell are relatively stable.  The rules expire at the end of 2026 that spell out how much water stays in the nation’s largest reservoirs and who would be forced to take cuts when there’s not enough to go around.  And while everyone agrees that we need to use a lot less water to match a river that now produces a lot less water, negotiations have been at a standstill for months over who should shoulder those cuts, and when.  But things have taken a turn, maybe for the better. Maybe worse. It’s too early to know.  That’s what makes it so volatile. … ”  Read more from Arizona Central.

Drought has some Tucson residents over a barrel

“The city of Tucson, Arizona, set or tied 52 daily temperature records in 2023, according to the National Weather Service. The city also received less than 11 inches of rain throughout that year.  To make the most of what little water the area does receive, a 30-year-old non-profit organization began partnering with the city of Tucson Water Department in 2016 to help low-income residents purchase and install rainwater-harvesting systems.  The Bureau of Reclamation, in an effort to conserve and manage water resources in the west, invested $40,000 of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding in fiscal year 2023 to help the Sonora Environmental Research Institute Inc. purchase 50 additional 1,500-gallon cisterns. These were made available through the partnership’s Limited Income Rainwater Harvesting Grant and Loan Program. … ”  Read more from the Bureau of Reclamation.

The water had arsenic, the pipes were old. How this tiny Arizona town kept its taps flowing

“Two wells, one old and one new, face each other from both sides of Plomosa Road in this remote town in Arizona’s western desert.  On a recent Friday, the chainlink gate at the old well was closed, displaying mottled, weather-beaten signs that read, “Bouse Worley Water, Keep Out.” The gate at the new well was wide open, and two dozen Bouse community members were pacing inside to see the future source of their drinking water.  “Thank you to the people of this district for seeing our vision for the future. We will now have clean and healthy water for decades,” said Renee Townsend, president of the Bouse water district’s board. … ”  Read more from Arizona Central.

In Utah, here’s how unconventional crops could save water — and reshape farming

“Just outside Canyonlands National Park in San Juan County, rancher Matt Redd walked to a spot where two of his pastures meet.  One side is growing alfalfa and other traditional grazing crops with wheel line irrigation. The other is home to a lesser-known grain called Kernza.  “It’s a long stalk with alternating seeds [on] either side of it,” Redd said as he rolled some golden seed heads between his fingers. “I find it quite beautiful, almost elegant.”  Perhaps the most beautiful thing about it, though, is how little water Kernza needs compared to the neighboring pasture. Even though this summer brought Utah record-breaking heat, Redd didn’t water it from July through September. … ”  Read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.

How much water do Colorado communities actually need? In one, surprisingly little.

“Douglas County is adding new homes like crazy. Some of its towns plan to double in size in the next 30 years, but these new homes use shockingly little water, blowing up traditional water planning rules and raising questions about how much water Colorado communities need to grow.  Sterling Ranch, for instance, has more than 10 years of data showing that the master-planned community of 3,400 residences just off Interstate 25 near Littleton uses just 0.18 acre-foot of water for each single family home, about 30% less than most urban homes, where 0.25 to 0.50 acre-foot per home is the norm. An acre-foot equals 326,000 gallons.  The community conserves by requiring water-wise lawns, using super-efficient showers and toilets, and installing separate meters for indoor and outdoor use. It also uses recycled water for its parks. … ”  Read more from the Colorado Sun.

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In national water news today …

Possibly toxic chemical may be widespread in drinking water, study finds. Should you filter your tap water?

“A previously unidentified chemical has been discovered in the tap water of about one-third of U.S. homes, a new study has found, and scientists are actively investigating whether it’s toxic.  The chemical, called chloronitramide anion, forms when “water is treated with chloramine, a chemical formed by mixing chlorine and ammonia. Chloramine is often used to kill viruses and bacteria in municipal water treatment systems,” NBC News reported. … However, treating drinking water with chemicals does reduce the presence of dangerous bacteria, especially those that cause cholera and typhoid, Alan Roberson, executive director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, said. … “The reason you’re adding the chloramine — you want to kill the bacteria and viruses, you have a real risk-risk trade-off,” he explained.   So, is tap water safe to drink? Is it time for you to invest in a water filter? Here’s what to know. … ”  Read more from NBC 4.

U.S. towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water

“For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City.  But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice.  The reason? A recent federal judge’s decision that ordered U.S. regulators to consider the risk that fluoride in water could cause lower IQ in kids.  “It’s too dangerous to look at and just say, ‘Ah, screw it. We’ll keep going on,’ ” said the town supervisor, Ed Lachterman.  Yorktown isn’t alone. The decision to add fluoride to drinking water rests with state and local officials, and fights are cropping up nationwide. … ”  Read more from the LA Times.

Water infrastructure helps communities, but quick economic boom is not a lock

“Famed actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Audrey Hepburn once said, “Water is life, and clean water means health.” But having access to water infrastructure provides much more than improved public health.  Public investments in clean, sanitized water (as well as adequate sewage systems) also provide communities with foundations for future economic prosperity. But there are questions: Just how much? And what variables affect how such prosperity comes to pass?  “For those of us who work with water resources, it’s always seemed pretty obvious that having water is going to have a positive economic impact on communities,” said Daniel P. Loucks, Ph.D., P.E., BC.WRE (Hon.), NAE, Dist.M.ASCE, a professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University. “Without it, nothing lives. Nothing gets made. It’s critical – and that’s why it’s always been a key part of infrastructure development.” … ”  Read more from The Source.

Our everyday water use is literally tilting the Earth

“Picture this: every time you use water from your tap, you’re inadvertently influencing our Earth’s rotational tilt and climate change. Bizarre, right?  Well, this is the reality we’re living in, according to a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.  Our planet is a dynamic entity, constantly shifting and adapting. Believe it or not, something as seemingly insignificant as our water usage can cause Earth’s physical orientation to deviate.  Over less than two decades, our groundwater pumping has tilted the Earth by 31.5 inches. To put this into perspective, this water redistribution equates to approximately 0.24 inches of sea-level rise. … ”  Read more from Earth.com.

It’s already official: You’re living through the hottest year on record

“Nine months ago, the oceans became bathwater. As historically hot sea temperatures forced corals to expel the microorganisms that keep them alive, the world endured its fourth mass coral bleaching event, affecting more than half of all coral reefs in dozens of countries. As the temperatures continued to climb, many died.  It was an early taste of what would become a year marked by the consequences of record-breaking heat. And now it’s official: Earlier this month, when much of the world’s attention was turned to the U.S. presidential election, scientists from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service crowned 2024 as the hottest year on record — and the first year to surpass the 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark. And that’s with a little more than a month left to go in the year. … ”  Read more from the LAist.

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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.