I'm amused by the armwaving from peeps who aren't in Reno, don't care about Reno and who don't hike in the Sierras who will proclaim, "there is no climate change because....." If you hike in the Sierras, you will note huge strands of pines attacked by the pine beetles, in the trees that replaced those cut down after the Civil War for the mines in Virginia City. You can't miss the dead trees, all throughout the Northern Sierras, if you hike in the backcountry. Old timers here note the summer heat increases discussed below. But, yea, tell all the old timers they are hallucinating.
"In Nevada, average temperatures have been increasing over time. In fact, eight of the 10 warmest years since 1895 have occurred between 2000 and 2020. Although temperatures throughout the state are increasing, the rate of warming is not the same everywhere. Urban areas, for example, are getting hotter faster than rural areas. Average temperatures are expected to increase in all seasons, but the warming is likely to be greatest in the summer and fall. Higher temperatures affect multiple sectors, including public health, agriculture, hospitality, the environment and water resources.
Increasing average temperatures will also lead to more frequent and severe heat waves and hotter days and nights. The term heat wave generally refers to spells of much hotter than normal weather, sufficient to be unpleasant or even unsafe. The number of very warm days—when daytime temperatures exceed 95 F—has already increased across the state, with the largest increases in southern and northwestern Nevada. The severity and number of extremely hot days and warm nights are expected to increase. Extremely high temperatures pose a danger to human life and physical and mental health3,4, to transportation, the electrical grid, ecosystems, livestock, and crops. Extreme heat increases fire risk for some vegetation types4 and can also negatively impact wildlife6. Extreme heat also impacts air quality, as higher temperatures are associated with increased ozone levels7.
Urban heat islands occur in developed areas that retain heat, especially at night, leading to higher temperatures relative to more rural, non-developed surrounding areas. We are already seeing the effects of urban heating in Reno and Las Vegas. Although urban heat islands are not caused by global greenhouse gas emissions, urban heating is expected to continue, leading to warming in cities beyond what is seen in regional climate projections. "
But yea, I'm just dreaming about this, and as the excerpt notes, urban heat island effects makes it worse. You can armwave and say what is happening, isn't happening because it doesn't suit your ideology. It did snow yesterday (but nothing stuck!) My nectarines might survive the freeze on Wednesday. I hope next year will be a wet year, because we got nothinks this winter, so we're cinching up here for drought.
Summarized in this fact sheet are specific details about how climate change has already and will continue to impact the state of Nevada and strategies that can be used to prepare for these changes.
extension.unr.edu
www.eia.gov
