The Independent's Climate Newsletter
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Welcome to The Independent's weekly round-up on the climate crisis, and the solutions being deployed to tackle it. Thanks for reading - LB |
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An SUV buried by a mudslide in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles following a historic storm which unleashed record levels of rain and sent mud and boulders down hillsides (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez) |
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Growing up in Scotland, winters meant overcast skies, rain that came at you sideways, and bitter cold. California, with its "72 and sunny year round" reputation, seemed like a different planet.
But in the past few weeks, the US west coast has been battered by dangerous, destructive storms. Historic rainfall has caused flash flooding and collapsed hillsides, sending rivers of mud and boulders cascading through homes and trapping vehicles. At least nine people have been killed, and an untold number of properties destroyed or badly damaged.
The extreme weather has been fueled by an atmospheric river, also known as a "Pineapple Express" or "river in the sky", as it pulls vast amounts of moisture across the Pacific from Hawaii. Atmospheric rivers occur globally but they are particularly important for the US west coast's water supply.
However, they are becoming more severe as the global temperature rises. Multiple studies have found atmospheric rivers in California are up to 15 per cent wetter due to the climate crisis.
"Although 15 per cent may not seem like a lot, that extra precipitation can sometimes mean the difference between no flooding at all or flood water entering into a home or overtopping a levy, due to limitations in infrastructure that was not designed to operate in a world unnaturally warmed by human-caused climate change," the nonprofit Climate Signals wrote in an email this week.
Mike Bedigan, part of The Independent's Los Angeles bureau, has been relaying updates from the ground. Mike is also no stranger to dank winters, having grown up in Macclesfield in the north of England. But nothing prepared him for this week, he told me over the phone.
"The pictures don't do it justice," he said. "Los Angeles is not built for this weather, so it really catches everyone off guard."
Earlier this week, he visited Beverly Hills, one of LA's most affluent neighborhoods. "I was literally in 90210," he said. "People build their own houses so each one is individual, massive, and very clean. Then you have the juxtaposition of the mud."
In one street, the mud, which had flowed about 300ft down a steep incline, was so thick it reached up to the back windshield of an SUV.
"It was mayhem," one resident, Jill Shinefield, told The Independent. "We've lived here 23 years and we've never, not even remotely, had anything like this before."
Mike also reported on the storm's impacts from a very different side of Los Angeles, with outreach workers and people living on the streets in the city's large "Skid Row".
"This storm is not the great leveler," Mike said. "Losing property when you're well-insured and rich is very different to being vulnerable and losing all your essential paperwork."
Community organisers told The Independent that the city's response to its unhoused population has been "abysmal". Despite promises extra aid would be available, contacting the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has been difficult, particularly because many seeking shelter do not have phones or internet access.
On Wednesday, the LA mayor's office said LAHSA had activated six additional shelters for people experiencing homelessness "in addition to the seven previously established winter shelters". An exact number of additional beds was not given.
Community organiser Carla Orendorff told The Independent there were around 10,000 unhoused people in the San Fernando valley area alone and that the idea of competing with others for such limited space was heartbreaking for some. One individual had told her: "I don't have a chance and honestly getting my hopes up that way would kill me."
You can read more of The Independent's coverage from California, and around the world, by visiting our dedicated climate news page.
More climate news this week from The Independent
Global heat has exceeded the critical threshold of 1.5C across an entire year for the first time, the European Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
Raging forest fires in Chile have claimed the lives of 112 people and left entire neighbourhoods in ruins in the country's worst blazes on record.
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