It is becoming increasingly difficult to deny the existence of climate change. In areas like California, it is even more difficult to refuse to accept a new reality that human activities have fundamentally changed the planet. Increasing temperatures related to human activities and higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are significantly increasing the number and duration of wildfires in areas like the west coast of the United States and elsewhere around the globe. Increasing global temperatures and decreasing humidity levels leaves drier forests that work like tinder boxes to erupt into massive wildfires. Unfortunately, these fires actually have a compounding affect on climate change themselves, as carbon dioxide and particulate matter work to complicate the increasing climate change only further being witnessed across the globe. Thus, the wildfires we see today are exacerbating the problem and creating a vicious cycle that we may not be able to break free from in the coming years.
The number and extremity of wildfires has increased significantly over the past decade or so. This is true especially in areas of the western United States. In fact, the west coast of the United States has seen a drastic increase in the number and size of wildfires in its forests.
Across the United States, the average acreage burned has increased significantly, even in comparison to just a few decades ago. The graph below this paragraph is presented by the Union of Concerned Scientists and highlights how significant the increases have been since the year 2000. The report signals that “from 2000 to 2018, wildfires burned more than twice as much land area per year than those from 1985 to 1999” (Union of Concerned Scientists 1). Just within the span of two decades, wildfire numbers and extremities have increased nearly twice fold. The chart below this paragraph visually represents the increasing number of acres burned by wildfires in the larger United States. One can clearly see a significant jump beginning around the year 2000 that has unfortunately only continued to rise into 2020. Fires are also starting to become a major concern in areas where they were previously not. In fact, the rest of the west coast has also proven increasingly vulnerable to wildfires. Even the traditionally wet areas of the Pacific Northwest have not been spared, as fires raged in 219 and 2020 in Oregon and Washington. This is also true for the west coast of Canada. Another example is the Southeastern United States, several major wildfires in the Appalachian mountains have sparked major concerns among scientists (Union of Concerned Scientists 1). A significant four-month long drought in 2016 was responsible for the region’s worst wildfire on record. Such fires continue to worry scientists who see an alarming trend that may not be reversible this far into a catastrophic climate change.
(Union of Concerned Scientists 1)
California has been hit particularly hard in recent years. The state has some of the largest forested lands but at the same time has long been a more arid climate. Unlike the forests of the east coast, California forest lands are typically quite arid to begin with, meaning humidity levels are much lower. Climate change has only increased the rate of decline in humidity, leaving the forests and grasslands increasingly vulnerable throughout the state. As a result, California has seen some of the worst fires on record in the last few years. In fact, 2018 was an exceedingly difficult year for California, as it was the worst year on record regarding wildfires (Gray 1). The graph from the California Air Resources Board presented below demonstrates the increasingly high burn rate of recent fires from 2009 to 2019. Take into account that at the time this graph was compiled, the 2019 fire season had not passed. Looking at additional reports demonstrate that the 2019 and 2020 fire season continue this upward trend, again worrying both scientists and residents of the state who are increasingly vulnerable to wildfire dangers and damages.
(California Air Resources Board 1)
Works Cited
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