Stalin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2008
- Messages
- 2,479
Deafening silence from the usual suspects on the events predicted by the climate change model..
"Climate change has made the grasses and shrubs that are fuelling the Los Angeles fires more vulnerable to burning, scientists say.
Rapid swings between dry and wet conditions in the region in recent years have created a massive amount of tinder-dry vegetation that is ready to ignite.
Decades of drought in California were followed by extremely heavy rainfall for two years in 2022 and 2023, but that then flipped again to very dry conditions the in autumn and winter of 2024.
Scientists say in a new study that climate change has boosted what they call these "whiplash" conditions globally by 31-66% since the middle of the 20th Century.
The wildfires have spread across parts of the Los Angeles area, leading to at least five deaths, burning down hundreds of buildings, and prompting evacuation orders for more than 179,000 people.
"This whiplash sequence in California has increased fire risk twofold," said lead author Daniel Swain from UCLA.
"First, by greatly increasing the growth of flammable grass and brush in the months leading up to fire season, and then by drying it out to exceptionally high levels with the extreme dryness and warmth that followed."
The researchers say that with every degree of warming the atmosphere is able to evaporate, absorb and release 7% more water.
This "expanding atmospheric sponge" as the scientists term it, not only leads to flooding when things are wetter, but it pulls extra moisture out of the plants and soils when the drier conditions set in.
www.bbc.com
www.nature.com
Comrade Stalin
Moscow
"Climate change has made the grasses and shrubs that are fuelling the Los Angeles fires more vulnerable to burning, scientists say.
Rapid swings between dry and wet conditions in the region in recent years have created a massive amount of tinder-dry vegetation that is ready to ignite.
Decades of drought in California were followed by extremely heavy rainfall for two years in 2022 and 2023, but that then flipped again to very dry conditions the in autumn and winter of 2024.
Scientists say in a new study that climate change has boosted what they call these "whiplash" conditions globally by 31-66% since the middle of the 20th Century.
The wildfires have spread across parts of the Los Angeles area, leading to at least five deaths, burning down hundreds of buildings, and prompting evacuation orders for more than 179,000 people.
"This whiplash sequence in California has increased fire risk twofold," said lead author Daniel Swain from UCLA.
"First, by greatly increasing the growth of flammable grass and brush in the months leading up to fire season, and then by drying it out to exceptionally high levels with the extreme dryness and warmth that followed."
The researchers say that with every degree of warming the atmosphere is able to evaporate, absorb and release 7% more water.
This "expanding atmospheric sponge" as the scientists term it, not only leads to flooding when things are wetter, but it pulls extra moisture out of the plants and soils when the drier conditions set in.
Climate change: What role is it playing in the California fires
Experts say that rising global temperatures are making wild fires more likely in California.
www.bbc.com
Hydroclimate volatility on a warming Earth - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment
Rapid transitions between extreme wet and extreme dry conditions — ‘hydroclimate whiplash’ — have marked environmental and societal impacts. This Review outlines observed and projected changes in hydroclimate whiplash, suggesting that subseasonal and interannual volatility will increase markedly...
www.nature.com
Comrade Stalin
Moscow
