Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, a leading international expert in weather and climate, was the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS) and is Director of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Atmospheric Sciences Program. Dr.
, wildfires can happen at any time of the year, but the greatest amount of activity tends to fall within the months of May to September. Such fires pose hazards for people and threaten property. Additionally, associated risks are not always confined to Canada ’s borders. As we enter what Canadians also refer to as “forest fire” season, there are three big concerns worth highlighting.
Holdover blazes are an appropriate transition to my second big concern. The region is experiencing persistent drought. The NASA Earth Observatory website goes on to say, “Such fires lingered in vegetation that had been parched by a multi-year drought, classified as extreme by the North American Drought Monitor.” These fires are coming on the heels of the 2023 season, which Canada’s government called, “The most destructive ever recorded,” even before the season was over.
As a reference point, roughly 2.5 million hectares of land is typically burned in an “average” year. Speaking about the 2023 season, Yan Boulanger, a research scientist in forest ecology at Natural Resources Canada said, “The word ‘unprecedented’ doesn’t do justice to the severity of the wildfires in Canada this year...., From a scientific perspective, the doubling of the previous burned area record is shocking.”has steadily increased in recent decades .
Hopefully, a shifting weather pattern will bring some temporary relief in the coming days, but the signal for the 2024 season is ominous. With the El Niño pattern shifting to La Niña, Professor Bonakdari, an expert at the University of Ottawa, raised another point. In a universityreleased earlier this year, he said, “British Columbia may experience drier-than-normal conditions, heightening wildfire risks, while Alberta faces concerns about drought and potential late-season wildfires.
It is important to remember that it is not “either/or.” When it comes to the narrative about natural variability and anthropogenic impacts, the right answer usually involves “and.”Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.
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