Fog Is Down By 33 Percent On California Coast, Fire Danger Goes Up, Heat Wave This Weekend

Climate change is decreasing coastal fog, and that could be leading to increased fire risk.

UC Berkeley Plant Biologist Todd Dawson says coastal fog in California has declined by 33% over the past century.

is partially the result of the warming climate, and that creates more terrestrial conditions that are prone to megafires.

Fog moistens grasses and trees and is key to the health of coastal forests, especially during summer months.

“We’ve lost a good three hours per day of fog input along coastal California,” said Dawson. “That’s not just in the redwoods, that’s any coastal ecosystem, whether it’s a chaparral system, a grassland or the redwood forest itself … and it continues as the globe warms up.”

Fewer foggy days, combined with drought, have in some cases suppressed redwood tree growth in the eastern and southern parts of the state, said Kristen Shive, director of science for the advocacy group Save the Redwoods League.

The story is reported at the San Francisco Chronicle.

As for Malibu … this weekend will see dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures … it will be between 100 and 115 degrees in the mountains right above Malibu.

Up to 90 on the beach.

And not much cooling overnight …. lows will be above 70.

Hottest on Sunday … from Friday morning through Monday evening.