Climate change has reduced the amount of winter fog in California (pictured), possibly damaging the region's fruit and nut crops.
Much of the fruit and nut production in the United States comes from the Central Valley of California. Dennis Baldocchi and Eric Waller at the University of California, Berkeley, analysed 33 years of satellite data and found that the number of winter fog events in this region decreased by 46% on average over 32 winters.
Winters with less fog will yield fewer hours of winter chill, which fruit and nut trees need in order to rest and prepare for the next growing season.
Geophys. Res. Lett. http://doi.org/szk (2014)
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Fading winter fog threatens crops. Nature 510, 11 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/510011d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/510011d
