Currently in Denver — September 27, 2023: Even Warmer and Sunny

The weather, currently.

Denver’s weather is getting pretty predictable these days. It’s another sunny one with a high temperature of 86. Low winds and clear skies will make for a toasty day in the sun, so make sure to bring a hat, wear sunscreen, carry around an umbrella, pitch a tent, or whatever you have to do to shield yourself from those delightful yet oven-like rays. 🔥

I missed my turn to work today and happened to end up at a Dutch Bros Coffee drive thru. Felt like a sign from the universe to buy an iced latte since our cold beverage days are numbered.

— Julia Dinmore

What you need to know, currently.

With drought affecting broad swaths of the Mississippi River valley, river levels have dropped so low that saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico is creeping upriver in the Mississippi itself. At its current rate of progression, the Mississippi will turn too salty for water treatment plants at New Orleans to produce drinking water in just a few weeks.

Since saltwater is more dense than freshwater, the saltwater is actually moving upriver along the riverbed — within the river itself. Federal engineers that maintain the river channel have built a partial dam designed to slow the saltwater’s upstream progression, and increasingly extreme measures will need to be taken once the saltwater reaches New Orleans — like transporting freshwater by barge, and hastily building a water pipeline to the city.

Similar events happened in 1988, 1999, 2012, and again last year — but this one seems especially severe.

As global warming melts ice worldwide, sea level rise will make problems like this worse not just for Louisiana, but all coastal cities worldwide.

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:

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