Eco update

Inside Climate News -  Groundwater supplies are dwindling in aquifers around the world, a groundbreaking new study found, with the rates of decline accelerating over the past four decades in nearly a third of aquifers studied. Many agricultural centers face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens water availability around the world. Groundwater has long acted as a climate buffer, providing a source of freshwater for communities with unreliable rainfall. But human activity has unleashed a feedback loop that is placing this crucial resource at risk: decades of uncontrolled combustion of fossil fuels has caused more frequent and severe droughts, which in turn has led to increased reliance on groundwater.

Axios -  A January thaw for the record books is firmly established across much of North America, with Washington, D.C., setting an all-time January high temperature record of 80°F Friday, as similar milestones fell elsewhere. The record warmth is by far the earliest 80-degree temperature D.C. had ever seen, coming weeks before the previous 80-degree high and just one week after snow blanketed the nation's capital.  In an average year, the city doesn't see 80-degree temperatures until around March 28, per the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.