Global Warming: Solutions to Droughts, Fires, and Floods

How restoring the water cycle can protect forests and people (Part 1)

By Alpha Lo, guest writer

Alpha Lo is a water physicist who educates the public and organizes coalitions to restore the water cycle and rehydrate the landscape using natural processes. He co-founded the Regenerative Water Alliance and publishes the newsletter, Climate Water Project, on Substack.

A cycle of drought, fire and floods—exacerbated by human induced climate change—is entangling the earth.

California wildfire. Photo: Bureau of Land Management, 2008

California, British Columbia, Australia, Greece, and Brazil are examples of places that have recently been hit by all three of these natural disasters that are interlinked in ways not always noticed:

• Fires can lead to floods. When fires get too hot they can form a waxy coating on the soil that prevents the landscape from absorbing water from huge rain storms. Instead, the stormwater gathers speed as it flows downhill to inundate urban areas with floodwaters. In 2020, wildfires unfurled across the Australian landscape and degraded the s…