by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Drought, rain, fire and soil disruption. Four processes for a single vicious cycle that has long plagued California<\/strong>, a victim of the consequences of global warming. It is a troubling picture the one described<\/a> in recent weeks by the New York Times. “After several years of intense drought<\/strong>, California is now being pummeled by weeks of heavy rain,” the US newspaper wrote a few days ago. “AAs the state\u2019s residents are discovering, the two opposite meteorological conditions can combine to make for severe mudslides.”<\/p>\n During periods of prolonged water crisis, soils dry out and lose their drainage capacity<\/strong>. The result is a buildup of water on the surface and a gradual runoff of water capable of generating potentially destructive landslides. But this, off course, is not the only consequence of heat waves.<\/p>\n