David Gelles of The New York Times recalls childhood memories of natural disasters while reporting on El Niño's impact on California. Gelles grew up in Northern California, where threats of disaster were ever-present. He remembers the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake at Candlestick Park, witnessing the 1991 Oakland firestorm that killed 25 people and destroyed over 3,000 homes, and facing basement floods and his mother rescuing art books.
Now covering climate for The Times, Gelles connects personal history with scientific data. Since 1989, atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen from 353.2 to 427.25 parts per million. Global temperatures are now over 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
Four of California's five most destructive wildfires occurred in the past decade. The state's annual wildfire footprint has grown nearly sixfold, with 2020-2024 acreage 5.7 times the pre-2000 average. Wildfire smoke days have nearly doubled since 2020, highlighting the intensifying reality of human-caused climate change on the region he calls home.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing