Savannah D'Evelyn

3 weeks ago | yaleclimateconnections.org | Savannah D'Evelyn |Kaitlin Sullivan

Early January usually falls smack in the middle of Los Angeles County’s rainy season. The moisture coaxes the browned landscape into hues of green, but that was not the case in 2024. Just 0.16 inches of rain fell downtown during the last six months of the year, nearly four inches below normal for the area. From July to October, no measurable rain fell at all. Conditions were ripe for ignition. Parched sagebrush provided tinder for fires large enough to engulf trees, homes, and entire communities.

Mar 19, 2024 | yaleclimateconnections.org | Savannah D'Evelyn |Rachel Goldstein |Sara Peach

It’s a universal fear — getting an F in a class or a paper. But what happens when an entire region fails? Take the Imperial Valley, which frequently receives low or failing grades for air quality. This agricultural hub in Southern California — ranked as one of the state’s poorest counties — is plagued by air pollution from agricultural burns, desert dust, wildfire smoke, and even pollution from the ongoing evaporation of the Salton Sea.