AlaskaAlaska is burning this year in ways rarely seen, from a huge fire in the southeast region where conflagrations are highly unusual, to a couple of fires that devoured forests and caused smoke that spread to the community of Nome, in the sea. of Bering, polluting the air.
So far this year, there have been 530 fires in an area the size of Connecticut, and the worst of fire season is yet to come. While little property has been lost, some residents have been forced to evacuate and one person died: A helicopter pilot last month after his plane went down while trying to carry a load of equipment for firefighters.
Recent rains have helped, but long-term forecasts show a pattern similar to 2004, when July rainfall gave way to high-pressure systems, hot days, low humidity and thunder that sparked the worst number of fires in Alaska. .
In 2004, the amount of land burned by mid-July is very similar to this year. But by the time fire season ended, the flames had consumed 10,156 square miles (26,304 square kilometers).
“The frequency of these intense seasons has doubled from what it was in the second half of the 20th century,” said Rick Thomas, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the Alaska International Center for Arctic Research. “And there is no reason to think that it will not continue.”
Heat waves and droughts, made worse by climate change, have made wildfires more frequent, destructive and difficult to fight in many places. This month, forest fires are burning in Portugal, Spain, France, England and Germany, which have recorded historically high temperatures.
California has recorded its largest, most destructive and deadly wildfires in the last five years, and with the state’s intense drought, authorities are bracing for what could be more months of flames and smoke.