There is a fire on one coast, hurricanes threatened on the other – many extreme weather conditions affect the people in the USA. Record heat and early forest fires are alarming in western North America.
San Francisco / Washington – The omens for a long, dry summer with forest fires and water scarcity in the western United States could hardly be worse.
“2020 was already terrible, with extremes of fire and records, but I’m very concerned that it will get worse this year,” said Bill Deverell, professor at the University of Southern California. His science project “The West on Fire” investigates the causes and control of forest fires in California and other western US states.
Mass extinction of marine animals
He describes the heat extremes in recent weeks in the western United States and Canada as “apocalyptic”, when a heat bell had the region under control with temperatures of over 45 degrees Celsius. In the place Lytton 49.6 degrees were measured, an all-time record for Canada. Shortly thereafter, the rural community was destroyed by flames.
The recent heat wave has been blamed for hundreds of sudden deaths. Air-conditioned centers where people could seek refuge were quickly set up.
Scientists are alarmed by the mass death of mussels, oysters, starfish and other marine animals on the heated beaches. The marine biologist Christopher Harley, who studies the impact of climate change on coastal ecosystems, estimates that one billion marine animals have died. “It’s almost biblical,” says Bill Deverell. “The world must finally take climate change seriously, with consequences such as extreme weather, droughts and fires”.
Forest fire season starts earlier
After an extremely dry winter and little snow cover, the forest fires in drought-ridden California started unusually early this year. Wildfire has always been around there, but now the fires are “hotter, more frequent, and bigger,” explains Deverell. The worst major fires have raged in the last 20 years. In 2020 California experienced a historic catastrophe, it was the most devastating forest fire season in terms of area since records began. More than 30 people were killed and over 10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Scientists believe it has been proven that the climate crisis exacerbates weather extremes such as drought and heat, which contribute to more violent forest fires.
Deverell also blames the fire suppression that has been common for decades. The fire brigade takes immediate action against forest fires, especially if the flames threaten settlements. In the state with 40 million inhabitants, more and more people live in fire-prone regions. The fire suppression in the forests leads to an accumulation of combustible material and ultimately to large explosive fires. Deverell’s team is now working with indigenous tribes who set fires according to ancient tradition in order to thin out the dense vegetation through controlled burning.
After hot wildfires that devour and compact the soil, rain can have “tragic consequences,” says Deverell. It recalls the winter of 2018, when forest fires were replaced by rain and mudslides in the Santa Barbara area. Landslides destroyed hundreds of houses and more than 20 people were killed.
Heavy rain floods the subway
People on the US east coast are used to extreme weather conditions with storms and rain. Most recently, the tropical storm “Elsa” moved over the states on the Atlantic – before arriving in Florida, “Elsa” was briefly upgraded to a hurricane twice. This made “Elsa” the first Atlantic hurricane of the year – and it was exceptionally early.
“During a whole hurricane season, a storm like” Elsa “is not at all rare, but for the beginning of July it is absolutely extraordinary,” writes weather expert Brian McNoldy. He conducts research on tropical cyclones at the University of Miami.
The offshoots of “Elsa” were particularly impressive in New York, for example. Heavy rain flooded the subway there. In some subway stations, the dirty water was knee-high. Scientists assume that “Elsa” could be the harbinger of a particularly active hurricane season.
Another event surprised the US capital Washington and the surrounding area in early July. A tornado warning in the evening alarmed a number of people – they were called by the weather service via messages on their mobile phones to seek cover. The sky turned ominous and suddenly heavy wind and rain made their way through the streets. The weather service confirmed the next day: A supercell thunderstorm produced two tornadoes in the evening hours in Arlington, Virginia, and the neighboring capital. Tornadoes are very rare in this region.
One of the tornadoes also swept through the center of the US capital near the White House. The following day, the storm was even the subject of a press briefing with White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “Where did the President and First Lady take shelter during the tornado warning?” Asked a journalist. Psaki could not answer the question. But tornado or not – President Joe Biden has just emphasized: “No challenge is as urgent as climate change.” Looking at extreme heat and drought, he said: “We see with our own eyes that it is time to act.”
Bidens Klima-Ambitionen
As one of his first acts, Biden ordered the US return to the 2015 Paris Agreement. He wants the USA to generate electricity without CO2 emissions by 2035 and to reduce its CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050 at the latest. Biden also announced that the US intends to cut its emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases by at least half compared to 2005 by 2030.
But Biden’s climate ambitions have recently suffered a severe setback. The president had to make a bitter compromise on a huge infrastructure package because the Republicans did not like the climate protection measures in the reform package, among other things. Many of Biden’s original proposals are no longer present in this negotiated compromise. The climate plans are now to be implemented in a second package. In any case, Biden’s policy does not go far enough for environmental organizations and experts.
“I’m afraid that Congress will again fail to pass a climate law that invests adequately,” wrote environmental policy expert Leah C. Stokes of the University of California in a recent guest article for The Atlantic. “I am concerned that we will continue to burn time that we no longer have.” Dpa
