At least 12 million trees have died over the past year due the severe drought in California.
The Los Angeles Times noted that the drought in the state has caused around 12 million trees in California’s national forests to die and scientists believe that pattern will continue this summer.
“It is almost certain that millions more trees will die over the course of the upcoming summer as the drought situation continues and becomes ever more long term and as bark beetle populations continue to expand,” said Jeffrey Moore, a biological scientist with the Forest Service.
The bark beetles Moore is referring to are tiny insects that tunnel under the bark of trees and cause the structure to die if it becomes heavily infested.
Additionally, William Patzert, a climatologist for Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that the dry conditions coupled with the warmer-than-normal temperatures is dangerous recipe that can cause wildfires and devastate the forest even more.
As previously reported, last month Gov. Jerry Brown put water sanctions in place to get Californians to pay attention to just how serious the four-year drought has become. The order came at a time when the Sierra Nevada’s snowpack, which the state relies heavily on for its water needs, was near an all-time low.
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