Climate Impact Report – 10/25

October 25, 2024

Key Facts Of The Day 10/25

As of Friday, thousands of students are returning to school in western North Carolina after nearly a month of being shut down due to Hurricane Helene’s devastation.
Nearly a month after Hurricane Helene, more than 150,000 municipal water customers remain under boil-water notices, and around four in 10 of all private wells tested so far weren’t safe to drink from.
- In North Carolina, a third of residents draw on local groundwater from pumps that they alone must test and maintain.
- Tens of thousands of wells may have been contaminated by the flooding, threatening a public health crisis.
Meteorologists are monitoring the western Caribbean for possible storm development toward the end of the month.
On Thursday, Hurricane Kristy strengthened into a Category 5 storm and was expected to remain away from land as it churns in the Pacific Ocean and weakens over the coming days

As of Friday, 19 large active wildfires have burned 519,364 acres across AL, CA, ID, MI, MN, MT, OK, OR, SD, UT, and WY. This year to date, 44,955 wildfires have burned 7,945,886 acres across the country.
In Alabama, 1 fire has burned 500 acres as of Friday.
In California, 3 fires have burned 50,059 acres as of Friday.
In Idaho, 5 fires have burned 334,606 acres as of Friday.
In Michigan, 2 fires have burned 304 acres as of Friday.
In Minnesota, 1 fire has burned 167 acres as of Friday.
In Montana, 1 fire has burned 190 acres as of Friday.
In Oklahoma, 1 fire has burned 178 acres as of Friday.
In Oregon, 1 fire has burned 3,060 acres as of Friday.
In South Dakota, 1 fire has burned 732 acres as of Friday.
In Utah, 2 fires have burned 33,198 acres as of Friday.
In Wyoming, 1 fire has burned 96,370 acres as of Friday.

A new report from the University of Oregon found that worsening wildfires, extreme heat, and air quality caused by climate change are already costing Oregonians thousands of dollars a year.
A new study found that green space in cities helps mitigate the health effects of extreme heat.