|
This year's wildfire season has been devastating, with fires raging across much of the West and sending smoke across the entire nation. However, the season is far from over. In California, more than 42,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as twelve wildfires continue to burn. Nine California national forests were closed on Monday, and the explosive growth of the Caldor Fire has become the number one firefighting priority in the nation as it approaches the populated—and popular—Lake Tahoe Basin.
At the same time as wildfire season continues, additional research has emerged on the impacts of wildfire smoke. One new study finds that exposure to wildfire smoke during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth, and that the risk is only getting worse. The smokiest season covered in the study was 2008; however, smoke exposure in 2020 was 2.5 times worse than that in 2008, and researchers fear that 2021 will be similar. “Unfortunately, we should think of [2020] as a new normal,” one of the authors said.
Another new study finds that wildfire smoke is transforming clouds, making rainfall less likely. Such a phenomenon could kick off a drought-fire feedback loop that would have devastating effects on the West. Climate models suggest that a smoke-induced drop in rainfall is probably already happening across much of the planet.
With the risks of wildfire smoke becoming more and more apparent, resolving the climate crisis and reducing associated wildfires becomes more urgent. Although lawmakers in Washington D.C. are working to direct funds to firefighting and increased wages for firefighters, many say it's probably not enough—and, while a worthy effort, is an attempt to treat a symptom of the problem, not the climate cause.
Efforts such as carbon-offset programs are one way that we as a society have tried to treat the cause of the problem. However, new reporting finds that wildfires in the West are burning vast swaths of specially protected forests that are part of carbon-offset programs, raising questions about the effectiveness of such approaches. At the end of the day, the best approach to resolving the climate crisis remains addressing the problem at its fossil-fuel source and working to rapidly transition our society towards a renewable, carbon-free future.
|
Our water situation has never been this bad. Right now, everybody’s praying for rain. Most farmers and ranchers in this area are facing extinction.”
