Impacts of Climate Change Sample Clauses

Impacts of Climate Change. The continual accruing of CO2 on the earth’s atmosphere has numerous consequences on the earth. There has been an upsurge in surface air and subsurface ocean temperatures in recent decades, which leads to sea level rise (Harley et al., 2006; IPCC, 2001; NRC, 2001:1; Xxxx, 2015). Research shows that the rate of increase in sea level in the past ten years is twice the rate compared to the preceding 100 years (Xxxx, 2015). Apart from the increase in temperature, there are extreme weather events caused by distress of the climate balance since the 1950s and even worse in recent decades (IPCC, 2001; Xxxx, 2015). The presence of heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other hostile weather phenomena, as well as ice melts, are testaments to this fact (Xxxx, 2015).

Impacts of Climate Change. Historically, the Planning Area has seen relatively infrequent large fire events, due to two primary climatological conditions. First, the hottest climatological part of the year, summer, is also when the marine layer has the greatest influence in the region, effectively facilitating overnight humidity recovery that reduces the potential for rapid and catastrophic wildfire spread. Second, while the region is subject to the same upper-level atmospheric circulation patterns that govern the katabatic Santa Xxx winds to the south, it historically has experienced much earlier autumn precipitation and higher fuel moisture levels in autumn when these winds develop, making the area less conducive to fire ignition and explosive fire spread. As noted previously, the large fire events have occurred when the onset of fall precipitation is delayed and a katabatic wind event occurs, creating hurricane-force winds that are extremely dry and hot. Xxxxxx and drier autumn conditions, particularly in September and October, have already been observed in the historic record and potential for increased frequency is greater under climate change. The frequency at which season-ending autumn precipitation is delayed and both live and dead fuel moistures remain at critically low levels into the autumn is projected to be greater under the projected changes in climate and produce lower mean fuel moistures (Figure 14). Figure 14. Projected change in average fuel moisture and the average number of days of extreme fire danger for the summer and autumn months for Santa Xxxx based on global climate model outputs. Hotter xxxxxxx will likely increase summer fire potential, with some studies suggesting this will weaken the marine layer influence and increase summer fire danger. However, since summer heat waves in the region are not typically associated with east wind events, this increase in summer (and potentially even late spring) fire danger will likely increase fire frequency and behavior as fuel moisture drops and live vegetation desiccates; but is unlikely to produce fast- moving fires like the 2017 fires. These conditions were partially attributed to the size of the record 2018 Ranch Fire in the nearby mountains of the Coast Range to the east of the Planning Area.