Climate Change is driving wild fires in California and globally

The 2018 wildfire season is the most destructive wildfire season on record in California, with a total of 7,983 fires burning an area of 1,824,505 acres, the largest amount of burned acreage recorded in a fire season, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center, as of November 30.

The spread and intensity of the wildfires raging in California call for a far higher level of fire prevention, containment and disaster management than the state has had previously. No doubt about that.

There are multiple reasons why wildfires are getting more severe and destructive including forest management, house building regulations, land-use regulations, utility installations and codes, insurance practices plus many more including the mindset and alertness of the communities.

But what is driving the wild fires?

According to the latest U.S. National Climate Assessment (go to: https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/) , released on November 23 this year, higher temperatures and earlier snow melt are extending the fire season in western states. By 2050, according to the report, the area that burns yearly in the West could be two to six times larger than today.
Increasing wildfire risk is already the reality for much of the western United States, particularly in California, the Pacific Northwest, the mountains of the desert Southwest and the Southern Rockies, where warmer temperatures and drier conditions are major contributors. As the climate continues to warm, elevated risks of forest stress and die-off, vegetation transformation and wildfire will spread across the United States.
But moreover, raging wild fires, is becoming a global problem and needs to be addressed like that urgently and by ALL countries and governments in the world.

 

More Stories

Summer Event

Summer Event

RSVP today to join us for our free end of summer event on August 12th!

Rain Garden

Rain Garden

Rain gardens are man-made additions to the environment that benefit surrounding areas and personal properties. Rain gardens are usually shallow, rounded gardens that are anywhere from 6-12 inches deep and vary in circumference based on many factors, such as the size...

2023 Urgent Climate Action

2023 Urgent Climate Action

The global warming crisis has exponentially escalated in recent years. The heavy use of fossil fuels and lack of sustainability are causing a significant rise in toxic gases in our atmosphere. This pollution is hurting the animals, the people, and the planet. “More...

The future of luxury is sustainable!

The future of luxury is sustainable!

Here at the Gaia Movement, we aim to promote sustainability and textile recycling by partnering with local businesses. Many luxury high rise apartment complexes have already joined in the mission to bring sustainability to their residents.   Find our drop boxes...

List of Top Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

List of Top Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products

List of Top Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products Living an eco-friendly lifestyle includes trying to use alternative products that will make less of an impact on the environment. Take your cleaning products for example. Most people have a cabinet at home filled with...

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The Gaia Movement USA is passionate of educating people about environment-related issues. We partner with many other organizations to spread the word of recycling all across the world. While it is important that people in other countries recycle or reuse, we want to...