Worldwide, September 2020 was the hottest September in recorded history. 2020 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history. It’s finally being accepted that the “scientists” denying climate change are akin to the “scientists” that told us smoking cigarettes was safe. The US, especially California and the south-west, was hit with a double-whammy of heat and drought. Those conditions combined with population growth in the west and the increase in demand for water that growth brings resulted in a 25% drop in western reservoirs compared to last year. Unless things change, our future holds more pressure on water supplies and more wildfires. Read more in Fresh Water News from Water Education Colorado.
Our “water years” in the west run October 1 to September 31, and 2020 is now Colorado’s third driest on record, behind only 2018 and 2002. You may recall 2002 as the year of our previously largest wildfire.
Another awful consequence of global warming has been our horrible fires. Grand County’s two major fires this fall have burned around 200,000 acres. Audubon published an excellent article about the impact of fires on our water in their November newsletter.