IF YOU THOUGHT LAST WEEK WAS HOT ...
/ Higher temperatures, rising ocean, loss of snowpack forecast for state
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
California will become significantly hotter and drier by the end of the century, causing severe air pollution, a drop in the water supply, the melting of 90 percent of the Sierra snowpack and up to six times more heat-related deaths in major urban centers, according to a sweeping study compiled with help from respected scientists around the country. The weather -- up to 10.5 degrees warmer by 2100 -- would make last month's heat wave look average. If industrial and vehicle emissions continue unabated, there could be up to 100 more days a year when temperatures hit 90 degrees or above in Los Angeles and 95 degrees or above in Sacramento, the report states. Both cities have about 20 days of such extreme heat now.
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Highlights of the report:
-- Hotter weather would increase the risk of death from dehydration, heat stroke, heart attack, stroke and respiratory distress. Under the most extreme scenario, heat-related deaths could increase by four or six times.
-- The snowpack, the state's major source of fresh drinking water, could nearly disappear.
-- Power demand could go up as much as 20 percent, but hydropower supplies would drop.
-- Heat could put stress on dairy cows, which could produce up to 20 percent less milk. Fruit and nut trees could produce smaller, inferior-quality crops. Wine grape quality could be severely affected in all but the coolest growing regions.
-- Sea levels would rise, with the possibility of inundating the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a source of two-thirds of the state's drinking water.
More:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/01/MNGDAK90EK1.DTLComplete report (warning, click will load pdf file):
http://sfgate.com/chronicle/acrobat/2006/08/01/climate_report.pdf