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The summer of 2021 has become a record year, and most parts of the western United States are facing the threat of historic heat waves, extreme droughts, and large wildfires that have begun to burn in the area.
Experts and officials worry that the catastrophic conditions fuelled by the climate crisis will only get worse in the coming months.
This Monday An unprecedented dangerous heat wave Scorched the Pacific Northwest and erased the record set the day before.
Seattle reached 108F (42C) at night-well above the record high of 104F (40C) on Sunday. PortlandOregon reached 115F (46C) after setting new records of 108F (42C) on Saturday and 112F (44C) on Sunday.
“This is the beginning of a permanent emergency,” Washington State Governor Jay Insley said in an interview with MSNBC. “We must address the root cause of this problem, which is climate change.”
Heat waves are described by meteorologists High voltage dome And worsened by the man-made climate crisis
Zeke Hausfather, a scientist at Berkeley Earth, a non-profit organization for climate data, said that the Pacific Northwest has warmed by about 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 degrees Celsius) in the past half century. He pointed out that without additional warming, this would still be an extreme heat wave, he said: “This is worse than the same event 50 years ago.”
The hot weather implies that the collapse of the climate will bring greater costs. According to reports, power outages have occurred throughout the region as people try to keep cool with fans and air conditioners, straining the grid.
The heat has forced schools and businesses to close to protect workers and guests, including outdoor swimming pools and ice cream parlours where people seek refuge from the heat. Covid-19 detection points and mobile vaccination units ceased their services.
In Portland, light rail and streetcar services were suspended due to cable melting and a surge in electricity demand.Heat-related expansion has caused roads to bend or loosen in many areas, including I5 Seattle. Workers on a tank truck Seattle Flush the suspension bridge with water at least twice a day to prevent the steel from expanding at high temperatures and interfering with its opening and closing mechanism.
Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell said that high temperatures indicate an urgent need for a federal infrastructure package to promote clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect people from extreme heat.
“Washington State was not built for triple-digit temperatures,” she said.
Extremely hot, I also felt it California In recent weeks, the southwestern states have intensified already devastating drought conditions, evaporating water from the dry environment, increasing the risk of wildfires.
more than 58.4 million people live in drought-affected areasAccording to data from the United States Drought Monitoring Agency, the western region now reaches a record 49.7% The highest category of “extreme” and “special” Drought level.
The agency said in its latest update released last week: “After another hot and dry week, the drought situation in the western United States continues to deteriorate.” universal.”
The fire is already burning, depleting the resources of the region earlier than in previous years. The National Interagency Fire Center stated that “field firefighters continue to deal with the extreme temperatures and very dry fuel in the western states.” 48 fires have burned more than 661,400 acres of land in 12 states. report. In Arizona alone, there are 17 fires that remain uncontrolled.
In California, the fire season exceeded last year, when the state set a new record of approximately 4.1 million acres. In Kern, Siskiyou and San Bernardino counties, firefighters are facing hot, dry conditions and are fighting three fires.
The lava fire is the largest fire in California. It was triggered by lightning in the Shasta Trinity National Forest and exploded overnight and on Tuesday morning. Burned more than 13,300 acres of landIt is controlled by 20% and has issued evacuation orders to thousands of residents who live and work in communities near Weed, California, close to the Oregon border. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning to the area as officials prepare for gusts and low humidity, which may complicate containment efforts.
Forest Service officials told reporters in a briefing on Monday night that due to strong winds, aerial tankers and helicopters had to be grounded throughout the afternoon.
“We were unable to fly for four or five hours,” said accident commander Steve Watkins.
California Governor Gavin Newsom (Gavin Newsom) Obtained the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) To help pay for fire fighting on Tuesday. Officials said the fire is expected to spread.
The public information officer of the incident, Jim Mackensen (Jim Mackensen) said: “The wind is starting to strengthen again, this will be another hot day.” He pointed out that the temperature is still as high as hundreds of degrees. McKenson added that the fire is likely to be active on Tuesday afternoon, partly because when the smoke and wind create conditions almost like thunderstorms, it is officially called an “unstable atmosphere.”
He said: “The wind is just a fact of life here,” but added: “It’s much hotter than the weather here usually. It’s all part of the historic heat wave from Seattle.”
The Associated Press provided a report
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