California burning: Stanford research looks at drought, wildfires, and smoke and the growing risks of climate change in the Golden State
In July 2021, smoke from California’s Dixie Fire, the second largest in the state’s history, combined with smoke from fires in the American West and Canada, traveled thousands of miles to New York and other parts of the East Coast, triggering air-quality alerts. It was an alarming message for people a continent away from the flames that the environmental fallout from climate change does not respect state lines. California is prone to both droughts and floods, but climate change is sending those natural cycles into overdrive.