The record-breaking heat wave enveloping the western U.S. could have consequences that reverberate through the spring and summer.
Dwindling water supply is one threat. Extreme summer heat is another. And the potential for an unusually severe wildfire season is also a risk.
“This [event] is sending off alarm bells for me, personally and professionally,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the California Institute for Water Resources and a research partner at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in a live YouTube talk Monday. “Not because this heat wave is going to cause mass harm or havoc in the moment, but what does it mean a couple of months from now?”
Advertisement
Rapidly melting snowpack in the mountains is one of the dangers.
