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Fires Are Larger And More Frequent | Earth Wise

May 6, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and larger

According to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder, wildfires have gotten much larger and much more frequent across the United States since the year 2000.  The rise in wildfires in recent years has been attributed to the changing climate and the new research shows that large fires have become more common and have been spreading into new areas that previously did not burn.

The researchers analyzed data from over 28,000 fires that occurred between 1984 and 2018 using satellite imagery along with detailed state and federal fire history records.

The results are that there were more fires across all regions of the contiguous U.S. from 2005 to 2018 compared to the previous 20 years.  In the West and East, fire frequency doubled, and in the Great Plains, fire frequency quadrupled.  The amount of land burned each year at least tripled in those regions.

The team discovered that the size of fire-prone areas increased in all regions of the contiguous U.S. in the 2000s, meaning that the distance between individual fires has been getting smaller than it was in previous decades and the fires have been spreading into areas that did not burn in the past.

This comprehensive study confirms what has been assumed by the media, public, and firefighting officials.  The results also align with increasing risk trends such as the growing development of natural hazard zones. Projected changes in climate, fuel, and ignitions suggest that there will be more and larger fires in the future.  More large fires plus intensifying development mean that the worst fire disasters are still to come.

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U.S. Fires Four Times Larger, Three Times More Frequent Since 2000

Photo, posted May 3, 2013, courtesy of Daria Devyatkina via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Record Heat Across the Globe | Earth Wise

August 4, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Record high temperatures recorded across the globe

While the Pacific Northwest was setting new records for high temperatures in June, many other places across the globe also experienced unprecedented heat.  Places in Russia and Scandinavia, including locations above the Arctic Circle, set new records for temperature.

The heatwave in Europe was the result of a persistent northward bulge in the polar jet stream.  This blocking pattern in the jet stream has been prevalent over Scandinavia this year and has contributed to unusually warm conditions there.  Further east, similar conditions have created unusual warm temperatures in Siberia.

On June 23, Moscow reached a high of 94.6 degrees, the hottest June temperature on record.  Helsinki, Finland set a record at 89.1 degrees, and both Belarus at 96.3 degrees and Estonia at 94.3 degrees set new records.  The town of Saskylah, north of the Arctic Circle in Siberia, measured almost 90 degrees on June 20. 

High temperature records have been broken in many places.  The all-time record high for June for all of Mexico fell at Mexicali in Baja California on June 17 when the temperature reached 125 degrees.  Palm Springs, California, while known for its desert heat, nonetheless set a new all-time high temperature of 123 degrees and also set a new record for the warmest overnight low temperature for a June night anywhere in North America at an unbelievable 105 degrees.

Stories like this have become all-too common in recent years and are undoubtedly going to occur with greater frequency as the world’s climate continues to react to the growing buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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A Scorcher in Siberia and Europe

Photo, posted June 8, 2007, courtesy of Niko Pettersen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Losing Forests Is Felt Far Away

July 6, 2018 By EarthWise 2 Comments

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/EW-07-06-18-Losing-Forests-is-Felt-Far-Away.mp3

Large areas of forests in our country are vulnerable to drought, fires and disease.  When forests are heavily damaged, there are well-known local impacts:  drier soils, stronger winds, increased erosion, loss of shade and loss of habitat.

[Read more…] about Losing Forests Is Felt Far Away

The Great American Eclipse

August 18, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/EW-08-18-17-The-Great-American-Eclipse.mp3

On Monday, August 21, there will be a total solar eclipse visible in a band across the entire contiguous United States.  The last time that happened was in June of 1918.  In fact, the last time a total solar eclipse was visible anywhere at all in the continental U.S. was in 1979.  So, this is a big deal for American eclipse watchers and millions of us will be heading for some part of the 65-mile-wide band of totality that wends its way from Oregon to South Carolina.

[Read more…] about The Great American Eclipse

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