UC Irvine professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Amir AghaKouchak said while the rainfall was significant, it is not likely enough to pull the region out of drought. … “It's better than last year, but we will remain under drought situation this year, at least that's how it looks like. … From an ecosystem perspective, wildfires around us are increasing over the years and drought is a major contributor," AghaKouchak said. "With prolonged drought, chance of wildfires increase and with that, poor air quality, potential health impacts, even long-term chronic impacts." Read More