California, the grim wildfire record: 800,000 hectares of forest already destroyed
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
The wildfires in California have burned an area more than six times the size of the city of Rome. And the toll is still provisional.
California, the grim wildfire record: 800,000 hectares of forest already destroyed
The wildfires in California have burned an area more than six times the size of the city of Rome. And the toll is still provisional.
The terrifying wildfires that have been ravaging California for weeks have now destroyed 800,000 hectares of forest. That is 8,000 square kilometres: more than six times the area of the city of Rome. This is the worst figure recorded in more than 30 years. And, above all, it is still a provisional toll, given that the fires have not yet been brought under control.
The #ValleyFire currently has eight air tankers assigned to the incident. When the retardant is dumped it can be a spectacular sight. Video taken 9/6/20 at 5:14 p.m. near Alpine
After northern California, the fires strike the outskirts of Los Angeles
Having first hit the northern part of the US state, in particular the Fresno region, the fires have also broken out in the southern portion of California, near Los Angeles. Aided by exceptionally hot temperatures: the area came close to 45 degrees Celsius.
In an attempt to contain the flames, thousands of firefighters have been deployed, working with the support of the army, which has made Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters available to evacuate residents.
The authorities have also issued numerous appeals to the public to exercise the utmost caution, both with regard to the fires already under way and to avoid accidentally starting new ones. Despite this, there is no shortage of reckless behaviour, such as that of a family near Los Angeles who sparked a new blaze by setting off a firework.
Sharp increase in CO2 emissions in Siberia due to wildfires
Wildfires represent not only a consequence of climate change, given that they are fuelled by heatwaves and drought. They are also a cause: the deforestation that results limits the capacity of forested areas to absorb CO2. Moreover, the combustion of wood itself releases enormous quantities of carbon dioxide.
This year's #Arctic #wildfires have beaten 2019's record in terms of scale and intensity. Estimated #CarbonDioxide emissions monitored by the #CopernicusAtmosphere Monitoring Service confirm this. Want to know more ➡ bit.ly/31PVI5w
Consider that the fires that devastated Siberia, in Russia, during the summer caused an increase in emissions in the Arctic Circle of more than one third compared to 2019. From 1 January to 31 August 2020, scientists' estimates from the European climate monitoring service Copernicus put the figure at 244 million tonnes, compared with 181 million the previous year.