November 4, 2015 -- Fearing the potential of an unusually wet winter with flooding and mudslides, Californians are growing increasingly anxious about El Niño, according to data compiled by Forward Observer. Google’s search volume measurement tools show that searches by Californians for El Niño keywords have increased by more than 1,600 percent since April 2015, overtaking searches for drought-related keywords earlier this summer. This trend by no means indicates California voters are moving on from the drought. Rather, policymakers should read this as a signal that voters are increasingly concerned about El Niño’s potential impacts and expect action on El Niño-related solutions, such as new tools to capture and store rainwater, as part of a long-term strategy to manage California’s water supplies. 

See our search volume infographic here.