Scientists say that very soon the planned shutdowns of water and light in the “golden state” may become a new reality.
An abnormal heat wave, new temperature records and a severe drought forced the California authorities to appeal to the residents of the state with recommendations: to use electricity and water more economically. So far, these are only requests. But scientists say that very soon the planned shutdowns of water and light in the state may become a new reality.
Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in fifty counties of California. And he asked the residents of the region to reduce water consumption by 15 percent during this hot time.
“We hope that Californians will understand this request, as it was before during the drought in the state. We hope that people will reduce the use of water by 15 percent. This applies not only to the residents of the state, but also to industry and agriculture,” Newsom addressed the residents of the state.
The authorities are asked to reduce water consumption within a reasonable framework. Californians are going to save – who on what.
“We will reduce the bathing time; we will try to wash less often. We will not water the plants often,” says a resident of Los Angeles, Art.
A recommendation measure may also become mandatory, scientists believe. Moreover, there has already been an experience of planned water outages in the state.
“This has already happened in California in 2012 -2016 during the drought, when water consumption in the state was necessarily reduced by 25 percent,” says Mark Lubell, a professor at the University of California.
“In general, most of the water consumed in cities is spent on outdoor water consumption – people water lawns, trees, wash cars. I believe that there is a possibility that the reduction of water consumption in the state will be mandatory, if we do not see that people have voluntarily reduced their consumption,” he continues.
The reason for the lack of water resources in the state was the heat and, as a result, the drought. Extreme indicators, according to experts, are observed in more than 80 percent of the state territory. In California’s Death Valley National Park, the temperature rose to 53 degrees Celsius.
“One of the main reasons for such a drought in California can be called climate change. Abnormal heat, melting of snow in the mountains, hanging of the water level in the ocean, is also signs of climate change. The number of forest fires is also growing,” Professor Lubell says.
The West of the United States, sweltering from the heat, is burning. The forests of Nevada and Arizona are burning, two rescuers died there while extinguishing a fire. Fires are raging in Oregon, where damage to power plants has further aggravated the already difficult situation with light in California. The burned-out substations supplied the “golden state” with electricity. As a result, the authorities have been asking Californians for several days to reduce their electricity consumption as much as possible in the evening. The fire element is raging in California itself, firefighters are not yet able to cope with the fire that has engulfed hundreds of square kilometers. Thousands of people were evacuated, dozens of houses burned to the ground.
