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Health Experts: Drought Poses Health Risks

  •  Pauline Bartolone 
Monday, January 27, 2014 | Sacramento, CA
  

Dry conditions are linked to more frequent and severe dust storms and wildfires.

Dr. Linda Rudolph from the non-profit Public Health Institute says the associated particulate matter is bad news for people with lung problems and heart disease.

"There might be an increased risk of pneumonia for people who are exposed to a lot of dust. In fact in the dust bowl in the 30’s, there were hundreds to thousands of deaths from what people called ‘dust pneumonia.'"

~Dr. Linda Rudolph, Public Health Institute

Rudolph says drought can dry up well water and increase water contamination in areas already struggling to get access to clean water.

She also says drought affects agricultural production, which rolls into problems with food prices and unemployment.

And those circumstances add more obstacles to staying healthy.

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    If you spent time on the water at Lake Tahoe last year and thought it looked a lot cloudier, you're right. UC Davis researchers say extreme weather — drought followed by heavy rains — caused clarity in 2017 to drop to its lowest recorded level.

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    Dry Spell Raises Fears Of Drought's Return In California

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    (AP) — Despite dry conditions in much of the state, water managers say it's too early for fears that California is sliding back into drought as abruptly as the state fell out of it.

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    More about drought

  • State Of Drought

    Reservoir levels are at historic lows, municipalities are ordering mandatory conservation and farmers are bracing for water shortages. Capital Public Radio has continuous coverage on how Californians are being impacted by the drought.

    Related Stories

  • State Of Drought

    Reservoir levels are at historic lows, municipalities are ordering mandatory conservation and farmers are bracing for water shortages. CapRadio has coverage on how Californians are being impacted by the drought.

 droughtenvironmenthealthcarehealthcarehealthcarewater

Pauline Bartolone

News and Features Editor

Pauline Bartolone has been a journalist for more than 15 years, during which she was Capital Public Radio’s healthcare reporter from 2011-2015. Her work has aired frequently on National Public Radio.  Read Full Bio 

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