CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

Heatwaves and Wildfires

Growing drought and heatwaves are expanding wildfire acreage. Wildfire Tucumcari NM. Photo by George Wuerthner

Most residents of the West are aware that summer days are getting warmer, and nights are not cooling as much as in the past. Climate change is real, whether the current administration wants to acknowledge it or not.

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought has heightened the risk of wildfires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades, with the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states projected to increase by 2 to 6 times by around 2050.

A recent study amplifies these basic conclusions.........

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