Climate Impact Report – 1/10

Key Facts Of The Day 1/10

Storms And Flooding

• As of Friday, a significant winter storm hit the South with snow and ice, causing major travel disruptions and power outages.
  • By Friday morning, more than 2,000 flights in and out of the U.S. had been canceled as the storm stretched over nearly every major airport in the South.
  • As of Friday morning, more than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas and Arkansas amid freezing temperatures.
  • Areas north of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro recorded up to 8 inches of snow while up to a foot fell near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
  • Dallas received 2 to 4 inches of snow, the city’s biggest storm in four years.
  • Southeastern Oklahoma picked up 6 to 10 inches of snow, and more than a foot fell in central Arkansas.
  • In Arkansas, Governor Sarah Sanders activated the National Guard to assist stranded drivers.

Wildfires

• In California, 5 fires have burned 35,793 acres as of Friday.
  • As of Friday, the Palisades Fire has burned 19,978 acres and is 6% contained.
    • The Palisades fire is the most destructive ever to hit Los Angeles County.
    • The Palisades fire is expected to be the costliest wildfire in U.S. history.
  • As of Friday, the Eaton Fire has burned 13,690 acres and is 0% contained. 
  • As of Friday, the Hurst Fire has burned 771 acres and is 37% contained.
  • As of Friday, the Lidia Fire has burned 394 acres and is 75% contained. 
  • As of Friday, the Kenneth Fire has burned 960 acres and is 0% contained.
  • At least 10 people have died in the wildfires.
    • Officials warn that the true toll won’t be clear until it’s safe for investigators to go into neighborhoods. 
  • Whole neighborhoods have been devastated, with as many as 10,000 structures destroyed by the coastal Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire.
    • The Palisades Fire has destroyed more than 5,300 structures, the third-most in state history.
    • The Eaton Fire has destroyed 4,000-plus structures, the fourth-most in state history. 
  • The wildfires in California temporarily forced the shutdown of two major pipelines that deliver gasoline and diesel to Nevada and other parts of the western United States.
  • Overwhelmed water systems hindered firefighting in Pacific Palisades.
  • Firefighting teams are expecting more wind and dry conditions to continue to complicate efforts into next week.
    • If winds are too strong, firefighting aircraft won’t be able to take off.
• Fifteen out of the 20 most destructive fires in California history have occurred since 2015, as world warming due to fossil fuel pollution more frequently creates larger and more severe fires in the Southwestern U.S.

Extreme Heat

• The World Meteorological Organization, the European Copernicus Climate Change Service, NOAA, and NASA confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record.
• The European Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed that 2024 was the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial level.
• Each of the past 10 years (2015–2024) was one of the 10 warmest years on record.