A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

El Niño and Global Warming’s Shared Impact on Chile and California (New York Times)

Devastating wildfires have killed over 120 people in Chile, where a decade-long drought has created extreme fire weather conditions. While the country has experienced wildfires for years, a recent study found that unusually warm ocean temperatures created by El Niño have combined with climate-fueled droughts and heat waves to contribute to the wildfires now raging.

Further north, California has faced record-breaking rains (up to 14 inches) spurred by El Niño, which have helped trigger flooding and mudslides. Officials noted that Los Angeles could face a year’s worth of rainfall in one day – overwhelming the city’s underprepared infrastructure. Unusually high Pacific Ocean temperatures have “supersized” river storms in the region.

While Chile and California face different challenges and circumstances, extreme weather events in both places are indicators of the shared impact of climate change and El Niño. Following the hottest year for oceanic and land temperatures, many experts take these concurrent challenges as a warning of what is to come as global warming worsens.

READ | Understanding El Niño’s Broad and Pervasive Impacts is Essential To Mitigation

Ambitious EU Climate Target Influenced by Elections (Reuters)

The European Commission recently recommended an ambitious 90% cut in greenhouse gases across its economy from 1990 levels by 2040. This target is supported by the commission’s climate science advisors, and it would transform the EU energy mix by prompting a switch from fossil fuels to renewable and nuclear power.

The new recommendation was released despite regional protests, led by farmers, about EU policies—including green regulations. The original draft did contain a recommendation to cut agricultural non-CO2 emissions by 30%, but that recommendation was excluded from the final draft.

Members of EU parliament are also under political pressure in the face of June elections. Right-wing legislators argue that recent protests are the result of farmers’ frustrations with being forced into a different lifestyle and insist that the new proposals will exacerbate these ill feelings. Left wing members observe that excluding agriculture will limit the effectiveness of the regulations.

READ | Europe Takes the Lead in Climate, Energy, and Security

Drought Devastating Spain’s Catalonia’s Tourism Industry (Al Jazeera)

After experiencing three years of stunted rainfall, Spain’s Catalonia region has put emergency measures in place to combat drought. The area’s tourism industry attracted 18 million to the region last year, and it will face devastating impacts from new government actions that include a ban on refilling swimming pools, the closure of fountains, and water restrictions that will have a particular impact on hotels.

Catalonia’s regional president, Pere Aragones, warned that this is the region’s worst drought on record—with its reservoirs falling to 15.8% below normal levels. New water restrictions limit daily residential use of water to 200 liters (53 gallons), or about the amount of water used in the average 10-minute shower. If Catalonia suffers a dry spring and summer, the personal daily limit will decrease further to 160 liters (42 gallons).

Spain was one of many countries that experienced an extreme heatwave last year that depleted its reserves and increased evaporation. The crisis was caused by a combination of poor rainfall and overexploitation of water for agricultural purposes. While the limitations also check agricultural irrigation, experts argue that the country’s agriculture also must adjust in the face of the climate crisis.

READ | Avoiding a Water Crisis: What’s Next for Cape Town — and Beyond?