The drought is likely, though not definitely related to climate change. One recent study does tie it -- and the cold heartland winter -- directly to the buildup of greenhouse gases.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.10...
Other climatologists are not convinced that the weather pattern can be so directly tied, but it is absolutely true that the severity of the water shortage has been increased by the warmth that has come at the same time. The whole state has been 5 degrees warmer than average over the past 6 months which have been the warmest first half year in the history of the state. 5 degrees over 6 months is a lot warmer than average. There is a good chance that the temperatures of the past 6 months are tied in part to the overall global warming trend.
California's severe drought has multiple causes. The biggest cause is a very large number of people drawing from an inconsistent supply of water. California (and the West in general) has a climate that is typified by a large variance in annual precipitation. That means that a few very dry years (or a few very wet years) in a row can cause severe consequences. Global warming if forecast to produce longer dry periods interrupted by very rainy periods. Another effect of global warming is to raise snow levels, and since California's primary water storage is in the Sierra snow pack, global warming can decrease the available water even with no decrease in precipitation. While the current drought may be accentuated by global warming, it is certainly not the only factor. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), currently in a cool phase, may be as much of a contributing factor. It may even be suppressing El Ninos, which would typically bring rainier years.
There will be those that say "California is a desert", and for the most part that is simply not true. While there are desert regions in the southeastern portions of the state, most of the state is NOT desert. The north normally has abundant rainfall and the Sierra Nevada get some of the most snow in the country. And just yesterday numerous locations in the mountains and foothills received large amounts of rain, more than 4 inches in some locations.
EDIT for Jim Z: I just created the graph that you wanted, although YA is making it look really small on the import. I don't see the sinusoid, but I guess you could do a Fourier analysis on it if you like.
They didn't have this kind of drought when Ronald Reagan was Governor. So blame dear old Jerry.
Peggy, The LA area mainly gets its water from outside the LA area. So the rainfall in the LA area doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. It was arid when Kit Carson traveled there. Water was a scarcity at the time.
gncp58, "By the way, did you read the stories recently about how conservatives have a form of cognitive dysfunction that leads them to be especially controlled by irrational fears?" The fact is that conservatives are not fearing the future. It is unquestionable that the irrational fears are on the greenie side. One only needs to read the book by Dr. Paul Ehrlich, 'The Population Bomb' to see who ar really the big scardy cats. Ha! Ha! You are so easy. Once you graduate from grade school, you will find out that what you just said is juvenile and borders on insanity. "Gosh, I'm alright. It is the rest of the world that is wrong." Ha! Ha!
Possibly related but California doesn't manage the water it has properly. There are virtually no catch drains for irrigation like they have in other dry climates like Australia. So every time it rains the water floods the streets and drains into the ocean. Additionally the Central Valley has been water starved in an attempt to save a bait fish, and ecologists have blocked the building of much needed damns for decades here.
What part of Cali? Because some parts are having floods.
The answer is a resounding NO. It has nothing to do with AGW.
First thing first. When youa re talking about AGW, are you remembering the G??? The global portion??? If you want to make a claim that AGW causes droughts in specific areas, you FIRST have to show that it causes droughts on average.
Last 60 years no change in droughts.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v49...
So the first link is broken. This is not evidence that AGW cannot cause droughts. That may still be up for debate. BUT, the burden of proof is upon YOU. You must show that it IS causing more droughts overall. Me showing it is not, is not even my responsibility. I can sit back and show nothing. Just like an atheist can sit back and not show evidence of no god.
Second, if you were to show that overall a statistically significant increase in drought has been shown, you would first have to account for other possible causes (like changes in how drougths are measured, how the temp affects the measurement of droughts, etc.. , before claiming AGW is the cause. Then and only then, could you turn your attention to addresing specific droughts. Even then, calling AGW the cause of a specific drought is problematic, because you would have no idea if the drought would have occurred regardless.
As for a cause, I do not know that how the water has been diverted and you have too many people living in and using the water suply of too dry of a location, is the actual cause, but it surely does not help.
GCNP,
Your cognitive dysfunction is funny. What is funnier, is that you are referencing something like that. Some person writing an article that "people who disagree with me have a mental disorder" is nothing short of a child throwing a temper-tantrum.
Edit for GNCP,
Providing me the article does not change my mind about the idiocy of the study. I don't say this because I am conservative, as I am actually libertarian. I say this because it entirely fails to recognize the bias inherent in even addressing the issue, let alone the negative spin placed on the issue.
Let me try this spin on his research. He is saying that conservatives are smart enough to appropriately react to things that are threatening and dangerous while liberals are too stupid to even understand what is dangerous.
Is that the spin you would use??? Because I would call the failure to recognize and react appropriately to danger a cognitive dysfunction.
As a libertarian, however, it does not much matter to me, and any similarity you see to me, is just because you are judging me solely based on discussion on this topic, which is absurd to say the least.
Now since you are engaging in insulting and seem to only understand insults, I will use an insult that takes as much intelligence as the study you referenced. "You are a poopyhead. Neener neener neener"
Anyone who spent time in Northern California, particularly Eureka and even San Francisco knows that they are similar to Portland and Seattle. It is much different in Southern California.
We did have some weird wet weather this weekend but it seldom rains in Southern California in the summer.
The geo next door from me has a graph of rain fall from LA. I don't know why it is hard to find on the net, but rainfall is clearly cyclical but very inconsistent. It forms a sine graph but you can't be certain that any given year will live up to the expectations of the graph. We are in a time when low rainfall is likely. Hopefully we get lucky and get some more much needed rain.
Trying to blame our drought on global warming is a fool's errand.
No. California rerouted all their natural water systems to help with oil production in the Los Angeles valley. This drought is man made because there are no natural water systems in the area. Short slightness and arrogance caused this problem.
Droughts come and go...the real problem is water and who regulates it. California has bankrupted hundreds of farmers by denying them rights to irrigate.
http://goo.gl/T4RAsD global worming in Lithuania....+36.5 degrees Celsius.....
There was an article yesterday about how the warming in the tropical Atlantic had intensified the trade winds in the Pacific. This intensification was responsible for the change in circulation that led, in part, to the drought in the SW part of N. America. The trade winds were also responsible for the increase cooling in the eastern Pacific.
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-atlantic-tu...
But, you know, why let a little physical explanation get in the way of your fear and anger.
By the way, did you read the stories recently about how conservatives have a form of cognitive dysfunction that leads them to be especially controlled by irrational fears? I did. I thought of people like you.
http://gizmodo.com/how-bad-is-californias-drought-this-bad-1531567081/+ace
When looking at the link, keep in mind that Calif reservoirs fill up in the winter, and draw down in the summer. That January pic is bleak. That's not the only one.
http://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/1Oroville-Reservoir-early-January-2014-Courtesty-CA-Dept-of-Water-Resources.jpg?422fcb
The Oroville Reservoir is down 82%.
http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2014/01/29/california-drought-17-communities-on-the-critical-list/
"State health officials identified 17 small community water districts in 10 counties that are at risk of running out of water in 60-120 days."
And it's unlikely that even in a good year that Calif would get useful rain before November or December.
According to Obama it is but He just talks .
No ,Drought is not caused AGW no proof
