Drought in California in 2014

The state of California in 2014 experienced the strongest in recent years, drought. It forced local authorities to introduce a state of emergency.

Climatic conditions of the state

The climate of California belongs to the Mediterranean type of the subtropical belt. It is characterized by a hot and dry summer. Summer temperatures above +30 ° C are common, precipitation is not present at this time. In the off-season, the amount of moisture dropped slightly increases. But the main time to replenish the moisture reserves is winter, when a lot of snow falls in the mountains. In the spring thawed snow water flows into rivers, lakes and reservoirs. They become the main source of water for the whole summer for the population and the economy of the state. Snow replenishes and soil moisture in the fields and pastures.

Causes of water shortage

The summer of 2013 was also very arid. As a result, the water bodies have become much shallower, the water reserves have decreased. The hope of replenishing their resources was not justified, since the winter turned out to be little snow. In California as a whole, the level of snow cover was not more than 13% of the usual. The flow of rivers fell sharply.

The reason for the absence of snow was the zone of high atmospheric pressure, which stretched across the Pacific coast of the United States. This anticyclone does not usually "live out" until winter, but this year it lingered and became an obstacle to the moist air masses coming from Alaska. Wet air was forced to bypass this obstacle, which led to heavy snowfalls in other parts of the United States. This is what caused the strongest drought in California. The photo shows that in winter of 2014 (on the left) snow fell several times less than in 2013 (on the right picture).

Drought in California dealt a brutal blow to farmers

Farms suffered most from lack of water. The state of California gives almost half of the country's crop of vegetables, with three quarters of the water used for irrigation of fields, plantations of grapes, almonds, olives. Many fields in the spring remained unsown because of a lack of moisture in the soil. The owners of the plantations directed the available water only to maintain the growth of trees so that they did not die from the drought, and they did not have to think about high yields.

For spring and summer, almond plantations and vineyards perished on tens of thousands of hectares.

Livestock in the state also suffered heavy losses. Due to lack of water, farmers had to reduce the number of livestock, selling it cheap. The grass on the slopes, not fed by sediments, burned out. To maintain the livelihood of cattle, it is necessary to import hay from other states, and farmers did not expect such expenses.

Farmers appealed for help to the state and US government, but this was not enough. Many ranchero lost everything they had. And dozens of farm families were forced to leave for other states.

Strong drought - the cause of problems in the industry

The state's industry also suffered damage as a result of the drought. The lack of snow led to a severe shallowing of rivers and lakes, which in turn caused disruptions in the operation of the state's hydroelectric power stations. The supply of electricity during peak hours has become irregular. As a result, industrial enterprises were forced to cut production.

Forest fires are satellites of drought

The drought in the US has become a record in its strength. Its consequences intensified and a strong fire hazard situation. All spring and summer of 2014, the people of the state held as a powder keg. Forest fires in this dry climate are common, but the terrible drought increased the risk of fires several times. The branches of trees dried up due to the lack of water flashed instantly from any fire, whether it was an abandoned cigarette or lightning strike during occasional short-term thunderstorms.

Fires often approached farms and cities, houses burned. Firefighters were forced to use special helicopters for extinguishing. The problem was further aggravated by the fact that less than a third of the volume of water from conventional reserves remained in the reservoirs of the state.

As a result, often firefighters had to choose, extinguish the forest fire itself or prevent its spread to the settlements.

Ashes from forest fires cover the dry bottom of rivers. When the rains come, the surface of the water will be heavily polluted.

Violation of ecological systems

The drought in California, which has become the strongest in the last century and a half, has violated the ecological balance. Under threat of extinction were some species of plants and animals that live in the reservoirs of the state, including the number of sturgeon. The number of birds that settled in the vicinity of rivers and lakes decreased. Cases of access to settlements of wild bears, which can not find food on sun-scorched lands, have become more frequent. Of the plants, the relict trees of the preglacial epoch - the giant sequoia, preserved only in the United States - are of greatest concern.

Due to the drought, the already rare vegetation on the steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains dried up. The earth, which is no longer held together by roots, is dispelled by the hot wind. If precipitation starts, which often have a stormy character, it will simply be washed away by streams of water. Many hectares of vineyards can remain without fertile soil.

The famous Colorado River no longer conveys its waters to the Pacific Ocean. The remnants of water after the fence for irrigation, after the detention of the Hoover dam to replenish the reservoir, disappear in the swamps into which its lower course has turned.

In short, California was on the verge of an environmental disaster. How much it will be possible to recreate natural ecosystems after the end of the dry period and how much it will cost, experts do not undertake to predict. Moreover, the drought in California in 2014 has already caused such material damage to the entire state that it is necessary to restore the level of production for more than one year.

Water saving is the main way to combat drought

The state of emergency introduced in California also determined measures to economize on available water supplies. Some of them are recommendatory in nature, and for the failure of individual large fines are imposed. For example, residents of California were advised not to spend water to water the lawns near the house. And those who are not satisfied with the dry grass in his private possessions, it is recommended to use an artificial lawn.

Bans have touched washing cars, and in fact in staff very large park of personal cars. It is forbidden to fill pools with such scarce water. For violation of a large fine. Many residents do not represent the hot California summer without bathing in the pool, so they prefer to pay a fine, but do it your own way. Given that the resort towns of the Pacific coast inhabited by no means poor people, you can imagine the effectiveness of such prohibitions.

The struggle for water

The bulk of the population, unlike the moneybags, perfectly imagines the need for water saving and understands the prohibitions with understanding. Moreover, they help the authorities in their fight against violators. It has become popular to shoot on the phone, how others spend water, and spread the records on the Internet, where violators are branded with shame. Many directly appeal to the police with a demand to take measures against "water criminals".

To support activists, state authorities use various incentives. For example, money - $ 100, but with the condition that money will be spent only to purchase funds to reduce water costs (more economical showers, toilets, etc.).

The state of California is now going through very difficult times. Elimination of the consequences of drought will take decades. It is not known whether the farmers will return to the abandoned ranches and plantations. Without strong government assistance here can not do.