Sophia Sewell's Senior Capstone Project
An Interactive Brochure of LA's Most Significant Climatic Factors
WHIPLASH
2023 has been quite the 'climatic' year for Los Angeles. After a decade of the record-breaking
drought conditions. LA welcomed a whopping 26 inches of rain.
Los Angeles has been declared 96% 'drought-free'! Now will that last? Absolutely, the fuck not!
Welcome to Los Angeles's whiplash of a climate system. The city where you can be burned in a fire and swept away by a flood.
As climate change grows in severity, let's dive into the impacts it has on my pretentious little hometown, LA.
Over the past decade, climate change has made Los Angeles County a real-life version of the Hunger Games. Residents battle it out for dwindling water resources, as if they're thirsty contestants fighting for survival in the arid arena.
Los Angeles County exists in a Mediterranean climate—a type of climate that is characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The high temperatures of the past decade have robbed Los Angeles of water and has become a breeding ground for devastating wildfires
In 2023, Los Angeles faced one its wettest rain seasons in documented history. It absolved Los Angeles County of 96% of its drought, which was rejoiced by Angelenos across the city even while the rain caused mass flooding.
Many are hopeful that this is the end of the drought as we know it. But it could not be further from the truth! The 2023 onslaught of rain to an extremely arid Los Angeles is eerily similar to the effect of
the drought-and-deluge cycle.
While the 2023 rain season made it easy to write off our devastating ongoing drought, Los Angeles county will inevitably return back to its drought conditions—conditions that are even worse than before. News outlets have exploited this environmental phenomenon as “Headlines” that preach “the drought is over”. This project was created in ANGER at the blatant neglect of climate change’s impact upon Los Angeles’s environment. I will proceed to SHOW YOU how the data of the past promises an UNFORGIVING future.
HEAT
Ah, Los Angeles - the land of sunshine, palm trees, and perfect weather. It's no wonder that so many people flock to this city in search of eternal summer. But have you ever stopped to wonder where all this amazing weather is coming from? Well, wonder no more, because the answer is simple - climate change. The past decade has exhibited some of the hottest temperatures to date. So next time you bask in the lovely sun of Los Angeles. Think of this.
Yeah, I get it, boring boring charts of little numbers that don't mean anything to you. Let me explain. These graphs show the upwards trends in average temperature over the course of a century and the hottest days on record.
Even just a one-degree increase in temperature in Los Angeles due to climate change would lead to an increase in heat waves, exacerbate water scarcity issues, and increase the frequency and intensity of wildfires.
LOS ANGELES HAS HAD A 3 DEGREE TEMPERATURE INCREASE,
With temperatures reaching scorching levels, it's no wonder that wildfires are becoming an increasingly common occurrence. After all, why light a match when you can just leave a candy bar wrapper on the ground and wait for the whole city to go up in flames?
Map of Worst LA Wildfires in the Past Decade
In total, these fires burned around 350,000 acres. Damaged 5000+ buildings and cost the state and TAXPAYER over $1 billion.
Imagine 1.8x of the surface area of New York City engulfed in flames—Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
1.8x
Keep in mind, the map only include fires that have burned over 1000 acres, there are hundreds of smaller fires that continue to obstruct Los Angeles.
WATER
So what solves the issue of extreme heat? Water!
As previously mentioned, the 2023 rain season put Angelenos at ease. Even though this rain inflicted mass floodings across the city, Angelenos could sleep at night knowing their water anxieties have been extinguished (literally and figuratively). I mean who could blame them?
Let me put the fear of God back into you. Extreme drought and extreme flooding are two sides of the same coin.
Los Angeles's intense atmospheric river, aka"megaflood" of 2023 is a direct consequence of climate change. The increasing temperatures of Los Angeles County clashes with the cold temperature of the ocean's current. It's not a question of "If there's another megaflood" but rather "When is the next megaflood"
THE FUTURE
As Los Angeles continues to experience a never-ending cycle of droughts and deluges, and the frequency and intensity of atmospheric river activity and wildfires continue to increase, one can only wonder what the future holds. Perhaps we will soon see a day where Angelenos will have to commute via boats instead of cars, or where the only way to stay cool during the sweltering summers will be in your fire shelters.
The prospect of a hopeless future is all but inevitable, as our leaders continue to prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability. But hey, at least we'll have plenty of firewood to keep us warm in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that used to be our beloved City of Angels.