The peloton ride passes through fire-ravaged Fox Creek Road in Adelaide Hills, South Australia, during the Tour Down Under cycling event on January 23, 2020. Brenton Edwards / AFP / Getty Images
A professional cycling race in Australia is under attack for its connections to a major oil and gas producer, the Guardian reports.
<p>Santos, an Australia-based oil and gas company is the title sponsor of the Tour Down Under, a prestigious stage race held each January at the beginning of the professional cycling calendar. </p><p>Race organizers were forced to shorten or modify stages of in 2017, 2018, and 2019 due to extreme heat and in 2020 the peloton rode through areas hit by bushfires. </p><p>Organizers with Fossil Free South Australia criticized the hypocrisy of the event, so directly affected by climate change, for accepting sponsorship from an oil and gas company.</p>
<p>The interplay of professional cycling and climate change are myriad, if ironic. </p><p>Though cycling is promoted the world over as a form of low-carbon transportation, multiple World Tour teams are sponsored by fossil fuel companies and Middle Eastern petro-states, and the carbon footprint of the infrastructure around the professional peloton — from international air travel between races to the caravans of cars and motorbikes that follow the peloton on the road — is enormous. </p><p>Yet professional riders feel global warming's impacts acutely. One stage of last year's Tour de France saw temperatures above 40°C (104°F) with temperatures on the road, directly above the scorching pavement, as much as 20°C (68°F) hotter.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/12/this-is-a-wake-up-call-how-will-pro-cycling-address-its-own-climate-crisis?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93243956&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89WdLT7XpWfvv3jnnmmZpN3ni_6AliBFTGSoRav6n9xGLRpezRzt0F0MGkhxKJlTzP49ynOGwQ4Wj17C7xOOIyhaORDMf-AtPkEy04YOyhfdCEvKM&utm_content=93243956&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Guardian</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Flames from the Lake Fire burn on a hillside near a fire truck and other vehicles on Aug. 12, 2020 in Lake Hughes, California. Mario Tama / Getty Images
An "explosive" wildfire ignited in Los Angeles county Wednesday, growing to 10,000 acres in a little less than three hours.
<p>The so-called Lake Fire, which prompted evacuations and road closures, is remarkable for spreading so fast so early in the fire season without strong winds to drive it.</p><p>"It's pretty explosive fire behavior," Angeles National Forest Fire Chief Robert Garcia told <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/08/12/lake-hughes-fire-angeles-national-forest-lacofd/" target="_blank">CBS Los Angeles</a>. "It's typically what we see a little bit later in the season and often driven by wind. The fuel, moisture conditions and the fire at this particular location with the slope, it really created the recipe for rapid fire growth."</p>
<div id="ce282" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a315d353ac8959f1b506f12e2da87657"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293722589903196160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">|Update| The #LakeFire has grown to 10,000 acres and is 0% contained. https://t.co/gNuygunYX4</div> — Angeles_NF (@Angeles_NF)<a href="https://twitter.com/Angeles_NF/statuses/1293722589903196160">1597282476.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The fire ignited around 3:40 p.m. Wednesday and is still zero percent contained, according to the most recent information from the U.S. Forest Service's <a href="https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6953/" target="_blank">InciWeb</a>. It is burning about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest, between Lake Hughes and Lake Castaic, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/08/12/lake-fire-california-lake-hughes-angeles-national-forest/3362336001/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories" target="_blank">USA TODAY reported</a>.</p><p>Evacuations were ordered for the entire Lake Hughes area Wednesday night. All told, residents of around 100 homes and buildings were told to flee.</p><p>Evacuees were directed to the Highland High School, but, because of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic, will have to remain in their cars, CBS LA reported.</p>
<p>In addition to its early start and rapid spread, the fire is notable because it is burning vegetation that hasn't been set ablaze since 1968.</p><p>"Portions of the forest [haven't] had a significant amount of fire in a very long time, 1968, for a large portion of that area, it hasn't burned since then," Garcia told <a href="https://abc7.com/lake-hughes-fire-brush-angeles-national-forest/6367793/" target="_blank">ABC 7</a>.</p>
<div id="c113f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c9f4391470f188b6e2856b1fc401fcda"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293753451302674434" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I have never seen anything like this. The #LakeFire is moving fast toward Lake Hughes. It created a fire tornado on… https://t.co/7DZeWe2rVS</div> — Veronica Miracle (@Veronica Miracle)<a href="https://twitter.com/ABC7Veronica/statuses/1293753451302674434">1597289834.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>There have been no reports of injuries and no official tally of structural damage, according to <a href="https://abc7.com/lake-hughes-fire-brush-angeles-national-forest/6367793/" target="_blank">ABC 7</a>. However, the fire was seen burning several homes.</p><p>Reporter Veronica Miracle tweeted that she had spoken to a man who had fled his home as a wall of flames approached.</p><p>"He thinks his house is gone," she said.</p>
<div id="a8aeb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9bd40093f0715b15feaf61119c36b8d8"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293737541003128833" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Just spoke to a man who lives up the street from this road block. He says when he left his home there was a wall of… https://t.co/cW3pLDSWLm</div> — Veronica Miracle (@Veronica Miracle)<a href="https://twitter.com/ABC7Veronica/statuses/1293737541003128833">1597286040.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Television footage early Thursday showed buildings burned to the ground, <a href="https://apnews.com/beb7f003386f89e5be10cb8b5ff97fd5" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>, but it was not clear if they were homes or not. Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief David Richardson said Wednesday night the flames might have burned some outbuildings.</p><p>More than 500 firefighters are combating the blaze, according to InciWeb. The area is expected to record temperatures in the 90s this afternoon.</p><p>Smoke from the fire could be seen from as far as Venice Beach Wednesday.</p>
<div id="0b41c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="db8e055853e93a3f057d22319303ee90"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1293691210557566976" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#LakeFire view from Venice Beach provided by @LACoLifeguards.
#LACoFD https://t.co/84jv0gSoVU</div> — L.A. County Fire Department (@L.A. County Fire Department)<a href="https://twitter.com/LACoFDPIO/statuses/1293691210557566976">1597274994.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/california" target="_self">California</a>'s wildfires <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-wildfires-2636008989.html" target="_self">larger and more extreme</a> as high temperatures dry out vegetation, making it more likely to burn.</p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Wildfires Can Poison Drinking Water – Here’s How Communities Can Be Better Prepared
05 August
Health + Wellness
The aftermath from the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, which killed 22 people in California's Sonoma and Napa counties. The National Guard / Flickr / CC by 2.0
By Andrew J. Whelton and Caitlin R. Proctor
In recent years wildfires have entered urban areas, causing breathtaking destruction.
<p>The 2018 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=5KNAl23NwME&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">Camp Fire</a> in Paradise and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcyPBHPk_VM" target="_blank">Butte County, California</a> was the deadliest and most destructive fire in California's history. It took 86 lives and destroyed more than <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2018/11/8/camp-fire/" target="_blank">18,000 structures</a> in a matter of hours.</p><p>Almost two years later, only a fraction of the area's 40,000-plus population has returned. This disaster followed the 2017 <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-wildfire-killed-22-wine-country-was-caused-homeowner-equipment-n962521" target="_blank">Tubbs Fire</a>, which killed 22 people in <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2017/10/8/tubbs-fire-central-lnu-complex/" target="_blank">California's Sonoma and Napa counties</a>.</p><p>After both fires, drinking water tests revealed a plethora of acutely toxic and carcinogenic pollutants. Water inside homes was not safe to use, or even to treat. Water pipes buried underground and inside of buildings were extensively contaminated.</p><p>We are <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=dBy5drAAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">environmental</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.ch/citations?user=-LMLQJ0AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">engineers</a> who help communities affected by disasters, and supported responses to both fires. As we conclude in a recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183" target="_blank">study of burned areas</a>, communities need to upgrade building codes to keep wildfires from causing this kind of widespread contamination of drinking water systems.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjQ2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDU0NTE4Mn0.r_r7LJ_VtkUALs87EotzXKkknwLkOEzJhBvDepeCewY/img.jpg?width=980" id="37e38" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3e724e0a889dcdd8ecc62a17bb4181e6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Survivors left everything to flee the Camp Fire's path. Andrew Whelton / Purdue University
Wildfires and Water
<p>Both the Tubbs and Camp fires destroyed fire hydrants, water pipes and meter boxes. Water leaks and ruptured hydrants were common. The Camp Fire inferno spread at a speed of one football field per second, chasing everyone – including water system operators – out of town.</p><p>After the fires passed, testing ultimately revealed widespread hazardous drinking water contamination. Evidence suggests that the toxic chemicals originated from a combination of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183" target="_blank">burning vegetation, structures and plastic materials</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjI0Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjc3Mjk3MX0.1ge-W2jLk5crLc4babbAJSXVVFjnvjGb0-hBmG4VRIg/img.png?width=980" id="474b2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="50d65b21031efbead0a4327ca6a606c1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Pipes, water meters and meter covers after wildfires destroyed them. Caitlin Proctor, Amisha Shah, David Yu, and Andrew Whelton/Purdue University
<p>Firefighting can accelerate the spread of contamination. As emergency workers draw hydrant water, they spread contaminated water through the water pipe network.</p><p>Metal, concrete and plastic pipes can become contaminated. Many plastics take up these chemicals like sponges. As clean water later passes through the pipes, the toxic substances leach out, rendering the water unsafe.</p><p>In the Tubbs and Camp fires, chemicals in the air may have also been sucked into hydrants as water pipes lost pressure. Some water system plastics decomposed and leached chemicals directly into water. Toxic chemicals then spread throughout pipe networks and into buildings.</p><p>Limited water testing by state and local agencies showed benzene and naphthalene were present at levels that could cause immediate harm. These, as well as methylene chloride, styrene, toluene and vinyl chloride <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183" target="_blank">exceeded longer-term regulated exposure limits</a>. Many of these chemicals cause cancer. All can cause vomiting, diarrhea and nausea after short-term high concentration exposure.</p><p>Anyone who drinks the water containing these substances could be harmed. And simply running a faucet could cause chemicals to enter the air. Hot showers and boiling water would vaporize the chemicals and increase the dose a person breathed in. Some of these substances can also be absorbed through the skin.</p>
Dangerous Contamination Levels
<p>Benzene was found at concentrations of 40,000 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water after the Tubbs Fire and at more than 2,217 ppb after the Camp Fire. According to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, children exposed to benzene for a single day can suffer <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/PlumbingSafety/resources/Benzene-Levels-in-Water.pdf" target="_blank">harm at levels as low as 26 ppb</a>.</p><p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends limiting children's short-term acute exposure to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-03/documents/dwtable2018.pdf" target="_blank">200 ppb</a>, and long-term exposure to less than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations" target="_blank">5 ppb</a>. The EPA regulatory level for what constitutes a hazardous waste is <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/tclp.pdf" target="_blank">500 ppb</a>.</p><p>In early 2019, California conducted contaminated water testing on humans by taking contaminated water from the Paradise Irrigation District and asking persons to smell it. The state found that even when people smelled contaminated water that had less than 200 ppb benzene, <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/PlumbingSafety/resources/Dissipatiion-of-Burn-Related-VOC-From-Water.pdf" target="_blank">at least one person reported nausea and throat irritation</a>. The test also showed that water contained a variety of other benzene-like compounds that first responders had not sampled for.</p><p>The officials who carried out this small-scale test did not appear to realize the significance of what they had done, until we asked whether they had had their action approved in advance by an institutional review board. In response, they asserted that such a review was not needed.</p><p>In our view, this episode is telling for two reasons. First, one subject reported an adverse health effect after being exposed to water that contained benzene at a level below the EPA's recommended one-day limit for children. Second, doing this kind of test without proper oversight suggests that officials greatly underestimated the potential for serious contamination of local water supplies and public harm. After the Camp Fire, together with the EPA, we estimated that some plastic pipes needed <a href="https://engineering.purdue.edu/PlumbingSafety/opinions/Final-HDPE-Service-Line-Decontamination-2019-03-18.pdf" target="_blank">more than 280 days</a> of flushing to make them safe again.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjQ3My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjEyODc2Mn0.R9wOz_c_FbjjzQjHJmkp3YMrlK6lr685c4D0oYmKgqo/img.jpg?width=980" id="e65c6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f5214fa63e8b9d6db3f0662f304d7445" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Plastic pipes can be damaged by heat and fire contact. Andrew Whelton / Purdue University
Building Codes Could Make Areas Disaster-Ready
<p>Our research underscores that community building codes are inadequate to prevent wildfire-caused pollution of drinking water and homes.</p><p>Installing one-way valves, called backflow prevention devices, at each water meter can prevent contamination rushing out of the damaged building from flowing into the larger buried pipe network.</p><p>Adopting codes that required builders to install fire-resistant meter boxes and place them farther from vegetation would help prevent infrastructure from burning so readily in wildfires. Concrete meter boxes and water meters with minimal plastic components would be less likely to ignite. Some plastics may be practically impossible to make safe again, since all types are susceptible to fire and heat.</p><p>Water main shutoff valves and water sampling taps should exist at every water meter box. Sample taps can help responders quickly determine water safety.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9540d7e271306ed417112042a3efc9a4"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GnlrzI1wdAI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
The Smell Test Doesn’t Work
<p>Under no circumstance should people be told to <a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2018/pr122418_voc.pdf" target="_blank">smell the water</a> to determine its safety, as was recommended for months after the Camp Fire. Many chemicals have no odor when they are harmful. Only testing can determine safety.</p><p>Ordering people to boil their water will not make it safe if it contains toxic chemicals that enter the air. Boiling just transmits those substances into the air faster. "Do not use" orders can keep people safe until agencies can test the water. Before such advisories are lifted or modified, regulators should be required to carry out a full chemical screen of the water systems. Yet, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1183" target="_blank">disaster</a> after <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2017/ew/c5ew00294j" target="_blank">disaster</a>, government agencies have failed to take this step.</p><p>Buildings should be tested to find contamination. <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q1/study-your-homes-water-quality-could-vary-by-the-room-and-the-season.html" target="_blank">Home drinking water quality can differ from room to room</a>, so reliable testing should sample both cold and hot water at many locations within each building.</p><p>While infrastructure is being repaired, survivors need a safe water supply. Water treatment devices sold for home use, such as refrigerator and faucet water filters, are not approved for extremely contaminated water, although product sales representatives and government officials may <a href="https://undark.org/2019/09/19/camp-fire-california-drinking-water-carcinogens/" target="_blank">mistakenly think</a> the devices can be used for that purpose.</p><p>To avoid this kind of confusion, external technical experts should be called in assist local public health departments, which can quickly become overwhelmed after disasters.</p><div id="71cf9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e059d199e8368d282a31601e372e4dda"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1204068265980547075" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Los Angeles City Council's Planning and Land Use Committee signed off on an effort to expand the city's fire-re… https://t.co/fP8Z8mUq7R</div> — IntlCodeCouncil (@IntlCodeCouncil)<a href="https://twitter.com/IntlCodeCouncil/statuses/1204068265980547075">1575907219.0</a></blockquote></div>
Preparing for Future Fires
<p>The damage that the Tubbs and Camp fires caused to local water systems was preventable. We believe that urban and rural communities, as well as state legislatures, should establish codes and lists of authorized construction materials for high-risk areas. They also should establish rapid methods to assess health, prepare for water testing and decontamination, and set aside emergency water supplies.</p><p>Wildfires are coming to urban areas. Protecting drinking water systems, buried underground or in buildings, is one thing communities can do to prepare for that reality.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Aerial picture showing fires burning in Brazil's Amazon rainforest on August 23, 2019. Carl de Souza / AFP / Getty Images
The number of forest fires in Brazil's Amazon rainforest increased 28% in July in comparison to last year, the country's National Institute for Space Research reported Saturday.
<p>Brazil holds around 60% of the Amazon basin region and environmentalists say this area is vital to containing the impact of climate change.</p><p>The state agency recorded 6,803 fires in the Amazon last month, compared to 5,318 in the same month of 2019.</p><p>Environmentalists were alarmed by the figure, particularly because August traditionally marks the beginning of the fire season in the region. Many now fear that a repeat of the large surge in fires that devastated the area last August could occur this year again.</p>
<p>"More than 1,000 fires in a single day is a 15-year record and shows the government's strategy of media-spectacle operations is not working on the ground," Greenpeace spokesman Romulo Batista said in a statement.</p><p>The fires have been largely set to clear land illegally for farming, ranching and mining. Activists accuse Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of encouraging the deforestation, as he has been in favor of opening up the rainforest to agriculture and industry.</p><p>The first six months of 2020 were already the worst on record for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, with 3,069 square kilometers (1,185 square miles) cleared, according to INPE data, an area larger than the nation of Luxembourg.</p>
Government Measures Not Enough
<p>On July 16, the Brazilian government banned burning in the Pantanal wetlands and the Amazon forest for four months.</p><p>President Bolsonaro also issued an order in May for the military to coordinate environmental actions in the Amazon.</p><p>But experts say the fire numbers indicate the government's response has not been effective. The deforestation index also remained high this year until July, compared to the last couple of years, according to Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the Advanced Studies Institute in the State University of Sao Paulo.</p><p>"We can conclude, with data until the end of July, that the effectiveness of government actions to reduce fires and deforestation is low," he said.</p><p>Experts also say that this year's dry season will be even more prone to fires than last year. U.S. space agency NASA warned last month that warmer ocean surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have creating the conditions for a more extreme drought in the Amazon.</p><p>"Human-set fires used for agriculture and land clearing more prone to growing out of control and spreading," NASA warned. "Conditions are ripe."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-amazon-rainforest-fires-surge-in-july/a-54405259?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646869688#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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A plane drops fire retardant over a home as the Apple Fire burns during the coronavirus pandemic on Aug. 1, 2020 in Cherry Valley, California. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Southern California's first major wildfire this year has devoured more than 20,000 acres since Friday and forced thousands to flee their homes in the midst of a pandemic.
<p>The Apple Fire sparked around 5 p.m. on Friday in Cherry Valley in Riverside County, <a href="https://www.sbsun.com/2020/08/02/apple-fire-in-riverside-county-at-15000-acres-no-containment/" target="_blank">The San Bernardino Sun reported</a>. Dry air and vegetation fanned the flames, and it is now 20,516 acres and only five percent contained, according to the <a href="https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6902" target="_blank">most recent update</a> from the U.S. Forest Service.</p><p>"The fuels are there, and they're ripe," Daron Wyatt, a spokesman for area incident commanders, told The San Bernardino Sun.</p>
<div id="1f9c6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="845a1fd9765b9467fcaf6f5787e0e373"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289936103739240448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#AppleFire timelapse between 9 and 10 PM August 1st. Taken from Mt. Edna just south of Banning. This is just showin… https://t.co/Lx71YUa6YR</div> — Big Rock Moto (@Big Rock Moto)<a href="https://twitter.com/BigRockMoto1/statuses/1289936103739240448">1596379707.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The blaze has forced around 7,800 people to flee their homes, the Riverside County Fire Department said, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/02/us/california-apple-fire/index.html" target="_blank">according to CNN</a>. But the evacuations have been complicated by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic. California has the most cases of any state in the nation and, as of Friday, had broken its daily death record four times in a little over a week, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/31/california-covid-19-deaths-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p>
<div id="375bc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="55edda8b88bee19de35447f1e4dd273a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289951696571887620" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">How do you evacuate 7,800 people in a pandemic? A question I was hoping we wouldn't have to answer but wildfire & h… https://t.co/XnzBcZ9K9g</div> — Amy Westervelt (@Amy Westervelt)<a href="https://twitter.com/amywestervelt/statuses/1289951696571887620">1596383425.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Evacuation centers have been set up at hotels and at Beaumont High School, with measures like temperature checks, mask wearing and social distancing in place, Riverside County Fire Department spokesperson Rob Roseen told CNN. But evacuees are still wary of seeking shelter in the school.</p><p>"Folks not taking advantage of it over concerns about COVID-19, we have measures in place. We planned for this months ahead," Capt. Fernando Herrera of Cal Fire <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/08/02/apple-fire-in-riverside-county-intensifies-to-15000-acres-0-percent-containment/" target="_blank">told CBS Los Angeles</a>.</p><p>Instead, the Red Cross has been helping evacuees find hotel rooms, according to<a href="https://laist.com/2020/08/02/apple_fire_evacuees_no_shelter_red_cross_coronavirus_covid_riverside_san_bernardino_county.php" target="_blank"> LAIst</a>, and families like the Mejias have stopped by the high school asking for their assistance in booking these rooms.</p>
<p>Marcella Mejia fled with her husband, three children, two dogs and 15 chickens Friday night when firefighters knocked on their door and told them to leave. They stayed with neighbors for the first two nights, but then Marcella came seeking out a room.</p><p>"We were told when we moved to Banning that it was a very high-risk area for fires," Mejia told LAIst. "But you never imagine this happening."</p><p>However, Red Cross volunteer Chris Ellsworth said it was sometimes difficult to find rooms immediately because the Red Cross, fire departments and individuals were all looking at once.</p><p>"You have a number of different groups of people looking for the same set of limited resources," Ellsworth told LAIst.</p><p>As of Sunday afternoon, the Red Cross had only helped fewer than 40 people.</p><p>So far, no one has been injured in the blaze, but one home and two outbuildings were destroyed, CNN reported.</p>
<div id="96f7a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3e2d3c0627953735511591c5785c8a23"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289574540138254336" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#AppleFIRE [UPDATE] 1 single family dwelling and 2 outbuildings were destroyed by the fire near Avenida Miravilla i… https://t.co/M3OTTfZFoZ</div> — CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department)<a href="https://twitter.com/CALFIRERRU/statuses/1289574540138254336">1596293504.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The Apple Fire in the midst of a pandemic is also an example of how crises can compound each other. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> is making California's wildfires larger and more extreme, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/10/climate-change-california-power-outage/" target="_blank">National Geographic pointed out</a>. The state has warmed by about three degrees Fahrenheit this century, and warmer air means drier vegetation.</p><p>The Apple Fire in particular is being fueled by vegetation with record-low moisture levels, according to the Forest Service, as well as hot, dry air. Those fire-friendly weather conditions are expected to continue for the next few days.</p><p>The fire is also difficult to fight because its north and east sides are burning on steep hillsides that firefighting vehicles cannot access.</p><p>The way it is burning also means that it is not safe for firefighters to try and surround it.</p><p>"We don't want to put firefighters in a dangerous situation," U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Lisa Cox told The San Bernardino Sun. "It's burning in a straight line up a mountain."</p><p>There are 29 hand-crews, 9 Helicopters, 260 Engines, 11 Dozers and 48 Water Tenders battling the blaze, according to the Forest Service.</p><p>Smoke from the fire has drifted as far as Phoenix, Arizona.</p>
<div id="91d82" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="34f3939bd37bc8373b32c2d9e5dd1fed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289951950587404290" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Incredible GOES-West satellite imagery showing smoke from the #AppleFire making it all the way to #Phoenix this mor… https://t.co/PRSbXubIA9</div> — NWS San Diego (@NWS San Diego)<a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanDiego/statuses/1289951950587404290">1596383485.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Locally, the smoke was expected to cause unhealthful air quality in San Gorgonio Pass, the Coachella Valley and eastern Riverside County, according to The San Bernardino Sun.</p>
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A kangaroo rushes past a burning house in Lake Conjola, Australia on Dec. 31 2019. Bruce Detorres / Flickr
Unprecedented bushfires that ravaged Australia in 2019 and 2020 killed or displaced almost 3 billion animals, according to an interim report released Tuesday.
<p>Compiled by scientists from several Australian universities, the survey said the blazes impacted an estimated 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs.</p><p>The report, commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), did not specify how many animals may have died. But the prospects for those that escaped the fires "were probably not great" because they lost food sources, native habitat and shelter from predators, report co-author Chris Dickman said. </p><p>The bushfires that swept across Australia between late 2019 and early 2020 scorched 115,000 square kilometers (44,000 square miles) of bush and forest, killing 30 people and destroying thousands of homes. It was one of the worst bushfire seasons on record.</p><p>Experts say prolonged drought and climate change will likely make such events longer lasting and more frequent. </p>
'Shocking' Findings
<p>A previous study released in January had estimated that around 1 billion animals perished in the hardest-hit states of Victoria and New South Wales in eastern Australia. But the survey published Tuesday was the first to assess fire zones across the entire country, lead scientist Lily van Eeden of the University of Sydney said.</p><p>The survey's results are preliminary, with a full report to be released next month, but scientists said the estimate of 3 billion animals affected was unlikely to change.</p><p>"The interim findings are shocking," WWF Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman said. "It's hard to think of another event anywhere in the world in living memory that has killed or displaced that many animals."</p><p>"This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history," he added.</p><p>Arnulf Köhncke, species protection expert at WWF Germany, warned that horrific bushfires could become a common occurrence: "The record fires in Australia could become the new normal, just a taste of what's to come, if we don't manage to limit the global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit)," he said.</p><p>Limiting temperature increases to 1.5 C above pre-industrial averages, as stipulated in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, is seen as crucial to preventing catastrophic global warming and worsening weather events.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/study-says-australias-bushfires-harmed-3-billion-animals/a-54344204?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646814591#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Agencies in California, Washington and British Columbia are sharing data and strategies to protect forests from wildfires. Joe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 4.0
Some of the largest wildfires on record have swept across the West in recent years.
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<p>Restoring these areas and managing forests to prevent more dangerous fires is complicated, especially as the climate warms.</p><p>"A lot of our management has been designed up until now with the expectation of a stable climate. And that expectation is no longer accurate," says Dan Siemann of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. "And so we're having to think about things like, 'What species should we be planting here that can survive not only in our current climate, but in future climates?'"</p><p>To find solutions, agencies in California, Washington, and British Columbia are collaborating. In a 2018 <a target="_blank" href="https://resources.ca.gov/CNRALegacyFiles/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CA-WA-BC-Forest-MOU.pdf">memorandum of understanding</a>, the three agencies pledged to share data and innovations.</p>
<p>The group is also exploring ways to offset the costs of forest management. For example, they're looking for markets for wood from the small trees and branches that are cut when forests are thinned.</p><p>Siemann says he's optimistic that by working together, the region can better adapt to global warming while saving time and money.</p><p>"We're really learning from each other and advancing our effectiveness around this," he says.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/california-washington-british-columbia-work-together-on-forest-health/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Scientists say that a record-breaking Arctic heat wave was made 600 times more likely by the man-made climate crisis. PBS NewsHour / YouTube
The record-breaking heat in the Arctic saw temperatures soar above 100 degrees for the first time in recorded history. Now, a new analysis has put to rest any notion that the heat was caused by natural temperature fluctuations.
<p>The study found that the record-breaking <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/heat-wave" target="_self">heat wave</a> was made 600 times more likely by the man-made <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/15/climate-change-made-siberian-heatwave-600-times-more-likely-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. In other words, the heat wave is nearly impossible without the climate crisis.</p><p>The heat in Siberia has produced conditions both strange and awful, with massive wildfires, ravening mosquitoes and shaky permafrost that has caused infrastructure damage, including a burst fuel tank that released about <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/russia-oil-spill-arctic-lake-2646167101.html?rebelltitem=1" target="_self">23,000 tons of diesel fuel into a pristine lake</a>. The wildfires have spread farther north than ever before and have put more greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere than in any other month in 18 years of data collection, according to one report.</p>
<p>To figure out if human actions played a role in the unprecedented heat wave in Siberia, the researchers looked at two recent examples of exceptional heating in the region. The first was a look at the trend line from January through June of this year, when the average temperatures in the region were 9 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the average temperatures from 1951 to 1980. The second was the remarkable heat on June 20 that saw temperatures at the Russian town of Verkhoyansk at a reported 100.4 degrees, which the Russian Meteorological Service said is a record for temperatures anywhere north of the Arctic Circle, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/climate/siberia-heat-wave-climate-change.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>The research was conducted by a group of 14 scientists from six countries who collaborated to figure how something this out-of-bounds could occur. Their comprehensive climate attribution study declared, "This large-scale prolonged event would have been essentially impossible without climate change," as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arctic-heat-wave-human-caused-climate-change/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported.</p>
<p>For context, the researchers said that if, hypothetically, you lived in this region before around 1900, when human-caused climate impacts started to emerge, a heat event as widespread, prolonged and intense as this would only occur once every 80,000 years — or about once every 1,000 lifetimes, according to CBS News.</p><p>For all practical purposes, said <a href="https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/people/fotto.html#:~:text=Friederike%20(Fredi)%20is%20the%20Acting,focus%20on%20Africa%20and%20India." target="_blank" title="">Friederike Otto</a>, acting director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford and an author of the paper, "you would not have gotten an event like this without climate change," as The New York Times reported.</p><p>In a statement, Andrew Ciavarella, the lead author of the research and senior detection and attribution scientist at the Met Office, the national meteorological service for Britain, called the result "truly staggering," according to The New York Times.</p>
<p>Climate scientists use advanced computer simulations to compare the climate as it is today with the climate as it would have been without human influence to see how likely different weather events would have been if our species had never altered the atmosphere, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53415297" target="_blank">BBC</a>. In this study, the researchers looked at the temperature abnormalities by observational surface temperature records and they recreated the climate using dozens of climate computer models. They delved into rich troves of data to determine how much of a weather phenomenon may have been caused by human activities that have generated planet-warming greenhouse gases, as The New York Times reported.</p><p>The researchers say that the current Siberian heat "has contributed to raising the world's average temperature to the second hottest on record for the period January to May," as the BBC reported.</p><p>"This study shows again just how much of a game-changer climate change is with respect to heat waves," said Otto, as The Guardian reported. "As emissions continue to rise, we need to think about building resilience to extreme heat all over the world, even in Arctic communities – which would have seemed nonsensical not very long ago."</p>
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More than 1,000 people were told to evacuate their homes when a wildfire ignited in the foothills west of Denver Monday, Colorado Public Radio reported.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The Elephant Butte Fire sparked in Evergreen, Colorado around 2:30 p.m., <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/elephant-butte-fire-in-evergreen-what-we-know/" target="_blank">KDVR reported</a>. As of Tuesday morning, it had spread to 50 acres and was zero percent contained, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tweeted.</p>
<div id="ee717" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c382c3bf5156f3c108c5b46303ead1d1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1283030707460354051" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Day 2 Update on the #ElephantButteFire Fire is still at 50 acres in size with zero containment. No evacuation order… https://t.co/1BF7UMdl6f</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1283030707460354051">1594733332.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>One of the families forced to evacuate Monday told <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/07/13/elephant-butte-fire-lincoln-family/" target="_blank">CBS4</a> the land they fled had been in the family for 100 years.</p><p>"It's completely made out of wood. It's a 104-year-old house. I've lived there all my life," teenager Aidan Lincoln told CBS4. "It's been there since before my dad was born. It means a lot to my family."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Right now we’re at 700 homes evacuated in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElephantButte?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElephantButte</a> fire in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Evergreen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Evergreen</a>. I talked with a 17 year old who was in tears believing his family home has gone up.<br>Latest on <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSDenver?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBSDenver</a> <a href="https://t.co/EAhaVawPN4">pic.twitter.com/EAhaVawPN4</a></p>— Alan Gionet (@AlanGTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlanGTV/status/1282824359397208067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Lincoln feared the family home had caught fire, but the sheriff's office says no homes have been lost. Fire officials also said no one had been injured as of 6:30 p.m. Monday, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/07/13/evergreen-wildfire-elephant-butte-fire/" target="_blank">The Denver Post reported</a>.</p><p>The fire is burning in the Upper Bear Creek Road and Overlook Trail area, according to Evergreen Fire Rescue. The evacuation area initially covered a five-mile radius and around 250 homes but was later increased to cover around 1,000 homes. The Elk Meadow and Alderfer/Three Sisters parks were also both closed because of the blaze.</p>
<div id="e2b09" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e665c6f540754d83a6eb94ba8f6e04fa"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282818933762875393" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Elk Meadow and Alderfer/Three Sisters Parks are both CLOSED due to the #elephantbuttefire #jeffco @efr_co https://t.co/nyHki32PjB</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1282818933762875393">1594682842.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>There were more than 100 people fighting the fire Monday and at least three air tankers and several helicopters, Colorado Public Radio reported.</p>
<div id="ab90e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d20a60932bf9aa3d5c9336d1c31edb57"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1282863366071914496" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Though these images were taken about an hour ago, they give you a different perspective of what the… https://t.co/Rcvn7TtlCQ</div> — Jeffco Sheriff (@Jeffco Sheriff)<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcosheriffco/statuses/1282863366071914496">1594693435.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Monday's weather made battling the flames more difficult. Firefighters on the ground had to pause in their efforts a little before 7 p.m. Monday because of lightning in the area, and wind pushed the fire up into the treetops of one ridge. There was a little rainfall, but it proved disappointing.</p><p>"Unfortunately the rain didn't help as much as we hoped," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook, as Colorado Public Radio reported.</p><p>Conditions are expected to be more favorable Tuesday because of a cold front, KDVR reported.</p><p>The immediate cause of the fire is under investigation, according to The Denver Post. However, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> has helped to increase the size and frequency of wildfires in the Western U.S. Of the more than 40,000 fires that burned from Colorado to California between 1950 and 2017, 61 percent ignited in the last two decades, according to the <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/blog/2830/six-trends-to-know-about-fire-season-in-the-western-us/" target="_blank">National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)</a>. At the same time, global temperatures have gotten hotter, encouraging ideal fire conditions like high temperatures and dry air.</p><p>"Those fire conditions all fall under weather and climate," NASA Langley Research Center wildfire expert Amber Soja said. "The weather will change as Earth warms, and we're seeing that happen."</p><p>Before the Elephant Butte Fire ignited, Jefferson County had implemented a burn ban because of hot, dry weather, Colorado Public Radio reported.</p>
<p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this article attributed a quote to the sheriff's office on Twitter. The quote was posted on Facebook.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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Aerial view of burnt areas of the Amazon rainforest, near Porto Velho, Rondonia state, Brazil, on Aug. 24, 2019. CARLOS FABAL / AFP via Getty Images
NASA scientists say that warmer than average surface sea temperatures in the North Atlantic raise the concern for a more active hurricane season, as well as for wildfires in the Amazon thousands of miles away, according to Newsweek.
<p><br/></p>
<p>As NASA pointed out in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/conditions-ripe-for-amazon-fire-us-hurricanes" target="_blank">statement</a>, warm <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">ocean</a> temperatures near the equator draw the water northward. As the water moves away from the Amazon, the landscape becomes drier and more flammable. That means that fires set for agriculture and clearing land have an increased potential to grow out of control. Meanwhile, the additional moisture traveling north aids the development of hurricanes.</p>
<p>"The fire season forecast is consistent with what we saw in 2005 and 2010, when warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures spawned a series of severe hurricanes and triggered record droughts across the southern Amazon that culminated in widespread Amazon forest fires," said Doug Morton, chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the NASA statement.</p><p>Morton, who co-created the Amazon fire season <a href="https://www.ess.uci.edu/~amazonfirerisk/ForecastWeb/SAMFSS2020.html" target="_blank">forecast</a>, analyzes the relationship between climate conditions and active fire detections from NASA satellite instruments to predict fire season severity.</p><p>"Our seasonal fire forecast provides an early indication of fire risk to guide preparations across the region," Morton, noting that the forecast is most accurate three months before the peak of burning in the southern Amazon in September. "Now, satellite-based estimates of active fires and rainfall will be the best guide to how the 2020 fire season unfolds."</p>
<p>Their model suggests that the regions that were hardest hit by the 2019 wildfires are at the highest risk again. Furthermore, the depleted resources as South American countries try to combat the COVID-19 crisis will exacerbate the problem by diminishing firefighting and emergency responder capabilities, according to Newsweek.</p><p>"You have a perfect storm: drought, the recent increase in deforestation, and new difficulties for firefighting. 2020 is set up to be a dangerous year for fires in the Amazon," Morton said.</p><p>The COVID-19 crisis has also allowed deforestation in the tropics to surge as environmental enforcement has weakened, according to recent report from <a href="https://www.conservation.org/blog/poaching-deforestation-reportedly-on-the-rise-since-covid-19-lockdowns" target="_blank">Conservation International</a>.</p><p>"Fire season in the Amazon is influenced by ecological, climatic, social, cultural and economic factors, from sea surface temperatures that influence rainfall in South America, to commodity-driven deforestation and the COVID-19 pandemic," said Karyn Tabor, senior director of ecological monitoring at Conservation International, in a <a href="https://www.conservation.org/press-releases/2020/07/07/conservation-international-reports-on-elevated-2020-fire-risk-in-amazonian-region" target="_blank">recent statement</a>. "Some governments have used widespread focus on the pandemic to quietly roll back environmental protections designed to prevent deforestation which in turn fuels the capacity for future fires to take hold."</p>
<p>Despite the COVID-19 crisis, changing conditions as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> bears down on the planet is the largest risk for wildfires, along with human activity, according to Yang Chen, Earth scientist at the University of California, Irvine, and co-creator of the Amazon fire season forecast.</p><p>"Changes in human fire use, specifically deforestation, add more year-to-year variability in Amazon fires," Chen said in a NASA statement. "In addition, climate change is likely to make the entire region drier and more flammable – conditions that would allow fires for deforestation or agricultural use to spread into standing Amazon forests."</p>
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A forest fire in Yakutsk in eastern Siberia on June 2, 2020. Yevgeny Sofroneyev / TASS via Getty Images
Once thought too frozen to burn, Siberia is now on fire and spewing carbon after enduring its warmest June ever, according to CNN.
<p>The most immediate impacts of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" target="_self">climate crisis</a> are in the nether-regions world of the world where temperatures are extreme and inhospitable. One of the most alarming examples is playing out in Siberia, which just saw temperatures reach triple digits as it endured its warmest month ever. That June heatwave in Siberia has led to some staggering numbers, according to scientists, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/07/weather/siberia-arctic-temperature-wildfires-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">wildfires</a> in Siberia started much earlier in the spring than ever before, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/rapid-arctic-meltdown-in-siberia-alarms-scientists/2020/07/03/4c1bd6a6-bbaa-11ea-bdaf-a129f921026f_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. Permafrost is thawing, infrastructure is crumbling, and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-ice" target="_self">sea ice</a> is dramatically vanishing.</p><p>"We always expected the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a> to change faster than the rest of the globe," said Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, to The Washington Post. "But I don't think anyone expected the changes to happen as fast as we are seeing them happen."</p>
<p>The wildfires released an estimated 59 megatonnes of carbon dioxide across Siberia in June, according to scientists at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). This spate of fires on landscapes that are typically too cold, wet, and icy to burn is raising alarms for ecologists and climate scientists, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/heat-wave-thawed-siberia-now-on-fire/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. They fear the rash of blazes is another sign that the Arctic is undergoing rapid changes that could set off a series of consequences on a global scale.</p><p>The fires can be a double whammy for the Siberian ecosystem. If they become a regular occurrence, it could cause new species to colonize the area, which would set the stage for more fires. Also, the increased intensity and duration of the fires may accelerate the climate crisis by thawing the ground and releasing trapped carbon that has accumulated in frozen organic matter, as National Geographic reported.</p><p>"By how big they are and how hot they are, I would say there's no way they're not burning down," said Amber Soja, an associate research fellow with the National Institute of Aerospace and an expert on Siberian wildfires, to National Geographic.</p>
<p>Already, the area's carbon dioxide emissions for June were its highest in the 18 years of the CAMS dataset, surpassing the record of 53 megatonnes set just one year ago in June 2019.</p><p>"Higher temperatures and drier surface conditions are providing ideal conditions for these fires to burn and to persist for so long over such a large area," said CAMS senior scientist Mark Parrington, as CNN reported.</p><p>"We have seen very similar patterns in the fire activity and soil moisture anomalies across the region in our fire monitoring activities over the last few years."</p><p>Siberia also had a warmer than average winter. CAMS said that the warm winter meant that "zombie" blazes were able to smolder through the winter and may have reignited this spring, according to <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-07-warmest-june-globally-siberia-sizzles.html" target="_blank">Phys.org</a>.</p>
<p>Globally, June 2020 was more than half a degree Celsius warmer than the 1981-2010 average for the same month, and on a par with June 2019 as the warmest ever registered. Siberia, which is larger than the U.S. and Mexico combined, was more than 5 degrees Celsius above normal for June, according to Copernicus Climate Change Services satellite data, as Phys.org reported.</p><p>Some parts of Siberia had an average temperature that was 10 degrees Celsius, or 18 degrees Fahrenheit, warmer than average. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet through a process known as Arctic amplification, as CNN reported. Arctic ice melt has accelerated, which leads to seasonal snow cover that isn't as white and absorbs more sunlight, which leads to more warming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</p><p>"To me what's really shocking is how warm it's been relative to average for so many weeks and months," said <a href="https://twitter.com/ZLabe" target="_blank">Zack Labe</a>, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, as National Geographic reported.</p>
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