New York’s drought conditions flames and boosts water savings

New York urged its 8.5 million residents to save water as the largest U.S. city endures an unprecedented period without significant rainfall, creating potentially dangerous drought conditions and fanning the flames of wildfires forest murderers.

Since Friday, wildfires have ravaged thousands of acres on the New York-New Jersey border, just an hour from Manhattan, claiming the life of an 18-year-old firefighter battling the blazes.

On the New York side, officials said the fire was the largest on record since 2008, fueled by dry winds.

New York and other parts of the state north of the city are under a red flag for bush and forest fires accompanied by high winds, low humidity and dry conditions creating conditions powder magazine.

There was even a small fire this weekend in New York’s Prospect Park, a large green space in the densely populated Brooklyn neighborhood, although it was quickly extinguished.

“The reality is that the drought we are experiencing now is just one example of how climate change is impacting our state today, not far in the future, but right now,” New Jersey governor said , Phil Murphy.

New York City and the surrounding region did not experience significant precipitation for much of September and October, and November has been mostly dry so far.

Perfect storm

The drought-like conditions coincided with a major overhaul of New York’s water system, which allowed the city to draw more water from a reservoir in Catskill Park, located in a particularly hard-hit area by drought.

“Even though there is plenty of water in our reservoirs right now, we are working now to launch public conservation efforts in case this drought continues,” the Department of Conservation said. environment of the city in a press release.

The city’s fire department called on residents to report leaking hydrants so they can be closed, warning in an Instagram post that “an open hydrant can release more than 1,000 gallons per minute “.

New York City’s average daily water demand has fallen by about 35 percent in recent decades, but officials say more can be done to prevent waste, calling on residents to flush their toilets use the toilet only when necessary and take shorter showers.

The reservoirs on which the city depends, which are usually filled by October and November rains, are only 62 percent full, far less than the normal level of about 79.2 percent.

The Office of Natural Lands Management said the ground in parts of New Jersey was dry to a depth of nearly eight inches – the worst situation in more than 100 years – meaning it would take that many inches of rain to bring the soil back to saturation.

There is no rain forecast in the region this week, and parts of New York state have imposed a drought watch, two levels below a drought emergency, starting in which homes and businesses are forced to restrict their water use.

New Jersey’s drought-affected areas are already a step above those of New York, at the drought alert stage.

“The impact of this situation on wildfires cannot be overstated,” said Greg McLaughlin, chief of the New Jersey Wildland Fire Department, which has responded to 537 wildfires so far this year. 500 more than the same period last year.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said it has been more than 20 years since a similar drought event in the northeastern United States.

“One of the attributes that is starting to emerge (with climate change) is these rapid transitions either from very wet periods to very dry periods, or from very dry periods to very wet periods,” he said.

© 2024 AFP