Officials issue first-ever declaration of tier 1 shortage at Lake Mead as it falls to lowest level since its creationOfficials have declared a dire water shortage at Lake Mead, the US’s largest reservoir, triggering major water cuts in Arizona and othe…
‘I can’t do it’: Portland residents battle grueling heat in unprecedented summer
Streets go quiet and shops close early as temperatures pass 100F in latest Pacific north-west heatwave“No, no, no,” Linda Longoria cried as she heard the weather forecast for Portland, Oregon on Friday: 100F (38C). “I can’t do it. Even in the shade it’…
Heat, drought and fire: how climate dangers combine for a catastrophic ‘perfect storm’
The three conditions feed off each other to create a vicious cycle, demanding urgent actionNorthern California’s Dixie fire this weekend swelled to become the single largest fire incident the state has ever recorded, a mammoth that has leveled mountain…
‘I still feel it isn’t real’: Gold Rush town residents reckon with wildfire devastation
As flames approached, Kimberly Price fled her beloved California hometown of Greenville. An hour later, most of it was goneAfter weeks of fire, smoke and warnings, Kimberly Price and her beloved town had run out of time.With wind driving the Dixie fire…
Dixie fire: cool weather slows raging California blaze as attention shifts to PG&E role
Wildfire’s cause is under investigation but utility company has admitted its equipment may have been linked to the devastationAs relatively cool temperatures and higher humidity slowed the Dixie fire raging across northern California on Saturday, atten…
The California tourist town that’s running out of water: ‘It’s a shock’
Lush Mendocino draws nearly 2m visitors a year. But drought is threatening to sink its key industryOn many mornings, the village of Mendocino vanishes into a thick white fog that covers its seaside cliffs, redwood trees and quaint Victorian houses.Carv…
‘My heart is crushed’: US’s largest wildfire levels beloved California town
Greenville, a community of about 1,000 in the Sierra Nevada mountains, reduced to ashes by California’s third largest fire ever recorded The US’s largest wildfire raged through a beloved Gold Rush-era California mountain town this week, reducing much o…
‘We do what the Red Cross won’t’: a day in the life of a wildfire Relief Angel
A team of volunteers have been soliciting donations and distributing them to wildfire victims in the Pacific north-westValerie O’Dai takes a drag from her cigarette at a donation site in Bly, Oregon, black sunglasses on, ash smeared across her face. Sh…
Baked barnacles, scorched cherries: the disastrous impact of heatwaves on plants and animals
More than a billion sea creatures across the Pacific north-west perished in this year’s heatwave. And it’s just a taste of what’s to comeWhen forecasts foreshadowed the Pacific north-west’s devastating heatwave at the end of June, marine biologist Chri…