"Until recently, that hydrological system existed in a delicate balance. In summer, evaporation would cause the lake to drop about two feet; in spring, as the snowpack melted, the rivers would replenish it. Now two changes are throwing that system out of balance. One is explosive population growth, diverting more water from those rivers before they reach the lake. The other shift is climate change, according to Robert Gillies, a professor at Utah State University and Utah’s state climatologist. Higher temperatures cause more snowpack to transform to water vapor, which then escapes into the atmosphere, rather than turning to liquid and running into rivers. More heat also means greater demand for water for lawns or crops, further reducing the amount that reaches the lake. And a shrinking lake means less snow. “If you don’t have water,” Dr. Gillies said, “you don’t have industry, you don’t have agriculture, you don’t have life.” (But wait! It gets better!) Most alarming, the air surrounding Salt Lake City would occasionally turn poisonous. The lake bed contains high levels of arsenic and as more of it becomes exposed, wind storms carry that arsenic into the lungs of nearby residents, who make up three-quarters of Utah’s population. “We have this potential environmental nuclear bomb that’s going to go off if we don’t take some pretty dramatic action,” said Joel Ferry, a Republican state lawmaker and rancher who lives on the north side of the lake." https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/climate/salt-lake-city-climate-disaster.html Oooopsie!
Not the worst ever; that took place long before the alleged impact of climate change. New Study Finds Extreme, Severe Drought Impacting the Upper Colorado River Basin in the Second Century Charles Rotter While there has been research showing extended dry periods in the southwest back to the eighth century, this reconstruction of the Colorado River extends nearly 800 years further into the…
The data tell their own story. No, Time Magazine, Climate Change is Not Worsening Drought Alarmist messengers/claims May 11, 20220 A recent Time magazine article says human-caused climate change is increasing the severity and number of droughts around the world. These claims are false. Drought tracking data show no meaningful trend in severity or frequency of drought globally. Referencing a recent United Nations report, Time’s article, “Climate Change Will Make Droughts Longer, More Common, Says UN,” says “[t]he frequency and duration of droughts will continue to increase due to human-caused climate change, with water scarcity already affecting billions of people across the world.” This statement contradicts previous UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, and is refuted by real-world data. . . .
