Blog: Is dust on the rise in California?
… California has a semi-arid climate, with several desert and desert-like regions, including the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Mojave Desert, the Mono Lake region, and the Imperial Valley/Salton Sea area. When these locations experience strong winds, it mobilizes dust particles, and fallowing facilitates dust emission by exposing the surface to strong winds. These events will likely increase with rising temperatures. Human health is front of mind here: direct exposure to dust causes respiratory and cardiovascular issues and Valley fever. But there are other implications as well. We know, for instance, that dust impacts snowpack. Snow typically reflects a lot of solar energy back into space. However, any impurities on its surface can reduce that reflection. Dust-covered snow absorbs part of the solar energy, and the more that happens, the faster the snow melts. That can lead to earlier snowmelt and increased river runoff at the beginning of the season, potentially increasing water scarcity at the end of the growing season.
Other dust news:
