wildfires
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Earth
Changes in vegetation and humidity enhance wildfires than supercomputer simulations discover
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The recent extreme fire seasons underscore the urgent need to better understand wildfires within the broader context of climate change. Under climate change, many wildfire drivers are expected to change, including vegetation, rainfall and the amount of carbon stored in lightning. Previous climate computer model simulations do not capture the perfect coupling between the corresponding shifts…
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Environment
Ash left behind from Los Angeles wildfires could be toxic, experts warn
A crooked cross lies among the rubble after the Altadena Community Church was destroyed by the Eaton Fire on Monday, January 13, 2025 in Altadena, California. Credit: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP Toni Boucher vomited the first time she saw the ruins of her home and neighborhood after the devastating wildfires that ripped through the Los Angeles area this…
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Environment
‘PDS’ warnings were created to draw attention to tornadoes, hurricanes and now wildfires
On Monday, January 13, 2025, a red flag warning of “particularly hazardous conditions” was posted on the National Weather Service website in Los Angeles due to the extremely high risk of wildfires in the area. Credit: AP Photo/Rachel Leathe The National Weather Service’s page for Los Angeles screams “Particularly Dangerous Situations (PDS)” in dark pink letters on a gray background.…
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Environment
Dry fuel emerges as a key factor in exacerbating recent Canadian wildfires
Spatial patterns of burn severity days and anomalies in 2023. Credit: Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.ado1006 A team of forest management experts from various agencies across Canada has found that fuel dryness has been the most influential factor in burn severity in Canadian wildfires over the past several decades. In a paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how…
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Environment
Fighting wildfires is going high-tech
Credit: Deep Rajwar on Pexels Last December, farmers were burning dry vines in a vineyard in Deli Mar Moussa, a hill town more than a dozen miles east of Beirut. It is known for its monastery built in the 18th century and its pine forest. This is usually dangerous, given Lebanon’s hot, dry climate, where a spark can quickly turn…
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Environment
Research: Even if warming is kept below 1.5°C, wildfires will significantly reduce the amount of carbon absorbed by land.
The percentage of burned area at 1.5°C and 2.0°C for each GFED region will change from the current time. Credit: Nature Geoscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01554-7 One of the objectives of the Paris Agreement was to “continue our efforts” to keep global warming below 1.5°C, but even this ambitious goal will continue to grow as wildfires become more intense and frequent.…
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Environment
Researchers simulate how wildfires spread across a region
(a) Prediction of maximum incident heat flux due to direct flame contact to buildings during the Thomas Fire. (b) Prediction of maximum incident heat flux due to radiation to buildings during the Thomas Fire. The white line represents the observed fire perimeter. Credit: Dwi MJ Purnomo et al. More than 6,000 wildfires have been recorded in California already this year,…
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