It's cold in Washington, D.C., where the bulk of today's excitement lies, but since this is the ANR News Blog, I'm writing about the unseasonably warm weather in California. We can't really pin this unimaginably delightful January on global warming since many parts of the nation have been shivering under an Artic blast. But perhaps it is a harbinger of things to come if, indeed, scientists' predictions about global warming come to fruition and warm January days become the norm.
Warm winter is nice for picnics and the beach, but winter warmth can reduce crop yields later, according to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Writer Robert Krier spoke to UC Cooperative Extension horticulture advisor Vincent Lazaneo, who said some fruit-bearing trees need cold weather during the winter dormancy period or they will produce less in the spring or summer.
Deciduous trees can be more prone to damage as well.
“If the tree is not actively growing, it's not running as much water through the bark and it's easier for it to (sun)burn,” Lazaneo was quoted. Without leaves to give shade, cracks can form in the bark, and that opens the tree up to further decay.
Pests can compound problems. Most insects are cold-blooded and develop faster during warm weather, Lazaneo told the reporter.
The Manteca Bulletin reported last Friday that the warm January weather is going to make California's ongoing drought worse.
January — typically the wettest month of the year for the critical Sierra watershed — is shaping up as possibly the driest on record, the paper said.