Research links climate change to hotter, drier, and windier conditions in Southern California, creating ideal conditions for intense and rapid-spreading wildfires. While not the sole cause, climate change exacerbates fire risks by increasing atmospheric moisture and creating more extreme swings between wet and dry seasons.
research shows that climate change made Southern California several degrees hotter, 15 percent drier and 20 percent windier — creating the ideal conditions for wildfires that burn intensely and spread quickly. Many factors come together to cause massive, devastating fires like the ones that have scorched Los Angeles, killing at least 10 people, destroying thousands of structures and pushing firefighters and first responders to their limits.
Hotter atmosphere holds more moisture Though it isn’t accurate to say that climate change caused these fires, it is true that a warmer atmosphere allows fires to burn more intensely and spread more quickly. When we burn fossil fuels, it produces greenhouse gases, which make our atmosphere hotter. Physics tells us that a hotter atmosphere holds more moisture. But, at the same time — it makes the atmosphere thirstier. The air quite literally sucks moisture out of plants, trees and grasses — creating more fuel for fires. This timelapse was captured by ALERTCalifornia’s camera in the Pacific Palisades and shows the Palisades Fire exploding.Climate change is causing more extreme swings between wet and dry climate conditions. The last two winters in Southern California were the wettest back-to-back on record — that led to flooding and the growth of grass and brush. Then, last summer was California’s hottest ever recorded. And to make matters worse — since September, Southern California has had its driest start to the winter on record. “That's where the connection is— the overlap between what I call sufficiently dry vegetation season and strong Santa Ana wind season,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Had you seen significant or widespread precipitation in the weeks and months leading up to this event, we would not be seeing the extent of devastation we are currently seeing. This is the same story, by the way, of what happened in Paradise with the Camp Fire. That’s where the climate change connection is.” Santa Ana winds are a natural event, but mix them with climate change, and these fires are what can happen. It’s also important to note that of the 20 most destructive wildfires in California history, 15 of them have happened in the last 10 years
Climate Change Wildfires California Santa Ana Winds Extreme Weather
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