Researchers have found that parts of Texas, California, Oregon, and Washington now experience fire weather more than twice as often compared to 1973. Drier winters, early onset spring and less snowpack melt are also attributed to rising temperatures and can exacerbate fire conditions.
"Climate change has changed fire seasons worldwide. Places like Australia and California that have always burned — are burning more. The fire seasons are longer," Mullins said.
With fire seasons starting earlier and finishing later in both hemispheres, Mullins says it makes it harder to share resources and crews between Australia and other regions.
"This is one of the critical risks of climate change," he said.
"The critical assets like large firefighting assets, we share [them]. So at the moment we have aircraft on lease in Australia from Canada and America that they could be using over there but they cant because we have them.
"This is a reality of climate change. How do you help each other when you're both burning?"
It's too early to say exactly how much worse these fires are because of climate change, but scientists will be looking to study that in the wake of this extreme weather event.
Yes its the ABC lomithe link is worth reading for a brief summary of what has caused the California fires.
no doubt California has a reputation for wildfires, but this is a whole different severity level (obviously)
just put the political stuff aside for a bit if you can and consider the devastation. and we saw a forerunner of this in Hawaii not so long ago.
the physics of the atmosphere is predictable and easily demonstrated by pouring a drop of milk in your coffee.... don't stir it just watch.
raise the temperature of any fluid and turbulence increases. this translates in increasing frequency and severity of storms, and dry droughts. and in between, where we are fortunate, have been getting milder swings. most of the severe swings are happening in the northern hemisphere for a wide variety of reasons. aren't we lucky.
