As ocean levels rise, waves crash farther inland and the coast continues to crumble, Southern California is on track to lose 30 to 70% of its beaches over the next several decades. … Those are just some of the dire findings in California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment, a state-commissioned report that comes out every several years and details how climate change is expected to affect everything from public health to animal habitat to central touchstones of the California way of life. … Climate change is not expected to change average precipitation overall, but it will become even more skewed and sporadic, so wet and dry years both will become more frequent in California, and droughts will last longer. The increased heat means the state will lose about 40% of its snowpack by mid-century, an important water source from the Sierra Nevada on which Southern California relies. 

Other California climate assessment news:

• Lost Coast Outpost (Eureka, Calif.): Humboldt Bay is California’s ‘canary in the coal mine’ for sea level rise, state climate report warns
• Redheaded Blackbelt (Phillipsville, Calif.): New state climate report spotlights the North Coast’s weak links and hidden strengths
• CBS8 (San Diego): California releases climate assessment predicting drastic changes for San Diego’s mild weather