Palm Desert Symposium Examines Local Impact of Climate Change

Los Angeles-based Climate Resolve and its partnering agencies will host a symposium in Palm Desert Oct. 12 to discuss the impact climate change will have on the state’s desert region.

The symposium is driven by the recent release of California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, which includes a report detailing the negative effects of hotter temperatures on residents, natural resources, plants, animals, the economy, and tourism in Southern California’s inland deserts.

According to the report, the desert is becoming hotter, with daily average high temperatures projected to increase by 8 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of century. The number of extreme heat days is also expected to increase. Palm Springs could see temperatures of more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit for more than half the year and more than 110 degrees about 95 days of the year. Both numbers are significantly higher than the current averages.

Climate change is also expected to bring extreme drought and rain events, which will increase the risk of flash flooding and wildfires.

The symposium, and others like it, are being held throughout the state to help communities, policymakers, governments, and environmental organizations better understand and prepare for the local impacts of climate change.

Representatives from the California Energy Commission, the University of California at Riverside, the Desert Cahuilla Indians, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, and others will discuss how projected changes will affect land use, public health, natural gas distribution, biodiversity, water and agriculture.

The keynote speaker is California Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, whose district encompasses eastern Riverside and Imperial counties.

For details on the symposium and the agenda, visit the registration website.