Hydroclimate whiplash — the rapid shift between wet and dry conditions — likely contributed to the severity of the wildfires burning in Southern California, according to experts.In recent years, parts of the state shifted from a major drought to an extended period of above-average precipitation that allowed for abundant vegetation growth. After that, a stretch of intense, record-breaking heat dried out much of that vegetation and provided ample fuel for large and fast-growing wildfires.MORE: Debunking 5 claims about the California wildfiresThe Los Angeles region experienced two “extraordinarily wet” winters — in 2023 and 2024 — followed by dry conditions that began in February, Edith de Guzman, a water equity and adaptation policy cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ABC News. Since May 6, Los Angeles has only seen 0.16 inches of rain, so the regions rainy season is off to an unusually dry start.”Right now, we essentially have had no measurable precipitation since last spring, which has dried out all of that vegetation that grew happily over the last two wet winters,” De Guzman said.The shrub cover that popped up as a result of the extra precipitation later dried out — providing large volumes of fuel for a fire, De Guzman said.Combined with the highly flammable materials many of the houses were constructed with, such as wood frames, it was a recipe for disaster, De Guzman said.In Southern California, dry conditions are also now more likely to last later into the fall, leaving the region more vulnerable during high wind events, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with both UCLA and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.PHOTOS: Powerful images show destruction from deadly Southern California fires1 of 41The devastation from the Palisades Fire is seen from the air as a house remains standing at bottom in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2025.AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill”Climate change is increasing the overlap between extremely dry vegetation conditions later in the season and the occurrence of these wind events,” Swain said.Hydroclimate variability has always been a staple of California’s natural climate, leaving it particularly vulnerable to wildfires.Among all of the states in the continental U.S., California has the most year-to-year variability between wet and dry conditions.”As you move down into Southern California, that variability increases even more,” Julie Kalansky, climate scientist and deputy director of operations at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told ABC News.However, some climate experts point to growing evidence that shows climate change has increased the volatility between very dry and very wet conditions around the world, like moving from a devastating drought to record-breaking precipitation and then back to a drought. These rapid swings between e
Mer. Gen 15th, 2025
