[ANALYSIS] California downpours won't fix decades of drought: scientists
Much of the western US is more than two decades into a punishing drought.LOS ANGELES - Near-record rainfall has battered California for weeks, sparking floods and landslides as the state struggles to cope with so much water.
San Francisco got more rain in the last two weeks than it has done in any similar period for 150 years, while the Sierra Nevada mountains have been buried in as much as 10.5 metres of snow.Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, a research organization that specialises in water issues, says it's difficult to quantify exactly how much water has fallen from the sky."There's no doubt that the water we're getting now is a great help in eliminating the drought..
California's largest reservoir, Lake Shashta, is only 42 percent full, official data shows, even after all this rain. And the torrents of rain that have fallen are not all that effective at recharging them -- the soil became saturated quickly, so instead of being absorbed, subsequent downpours just ran off.
California's vast agricultural sector -- which supplies a swathe of America's supermarkets -- is a heavy user of this underground water. That contributes to longer-term trends like the drought, as well as to the increasing ferocity of winter storms like those that are whipping the western US coast now.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
DNA UNLOCKED: Innovation in elephant dung analysis offers endless benefits for conservationEvery pile of elephant dung holds a story that tells of forgotten migrations, ancient hookups and a population’s well-being, and now scientists are unlocking these secrets thanks to a new way of collecting DNA.
Read more »
Kenya: How Ruto Can Transform Kenya's EconomyAnalysis - African Futures and Innovation analysis shows how Kenya can overcome major development hurdles by focusing on three sectors.
Read more »
Cyclone churns off California bringing yet more storm miseryAn enormous cyclone gyrating off California's coast was dumping rain on Wednesday, threatening further floods and landslides.
Read more »
Fit For A King: Inside Meghan & Harry’s R570 Million Netflix...Fit For A King: Inside Meghan & Harry's R570 Million Netflix Mansion [Video]
Read more »
WATCH | 'Relentless cyclones' continue to batter US state of California | News24A 'relentless parade of cyclones' hitting the US state of California was expected to shift further north, the US National Weather Service said on Thursday, as the region continued to struggle with massive floods and landslides.
Read more »