Canadian Wildfires: 10 Million Hectares Have Burned, Abnormally Climate Change (to compare: Indonesia Haze 2015, 2.6 Million)

Reno Nevada U.S. and British Columbia Canada 9.03am / Madrid 6.03pm

8 Years ago, Jokowi (inaugurated as President since Oct 20, 2014) facing wrath across the world because 2.6 million hectares rainforest have burned. Haze across ASEAN, at least Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Canadian wildfires have burned more than 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) this year, a record-breaking figure which will continue to rise in the coming weeks, government data showed Saturday (July 15th, 2023).

The prior all-time high occurred in 1989, when 7.3 million hectares were burned, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

In total, 4,088 fires have occurred since January, including many blazes that have scorched hundreds of thousands of hectares. Along the way, more than 150,000 people have been displaced.

Given the scale and multitude of fires, authorities have had to leave most of them to burn.

The majority of fires have occurred in forests, far from inhabited areas -- but they still have serious consequences for the environment.

"We find ourselves this year with figures that are worse than our most pessimistic scenarios," Yan Boulanger, a researcher at Canada's natural resources ministry, told.

"What has been completely crazy is that there has been no respite since the beginning of May," he said.

As of Saturday, there were 906 active fires in the country, including 570 deemed out of control -- with no province spared.

The dire situation has shifted across the country in recent months: In May, at the beginning of the wildfire season, Alberta in the west was the center of attention, with unprecedented blazes.

Several weeks later, Nova Scotia, an Atlantic province with a mild climate, took up the baton, followed by Quebec, where huge fires created plumes of smoke that blanketed even parts of the United States.

Since the beginning of July, the situation has taken a dramatic turn in British Columbia, with more than 250 fires starting in just three days last week, mostly triggered by lightning.

Much of Canada is suffering from severe drought, with months of below-average rainfall and warm temperatures.

The country is warming faster than the rest of the planet because of its geography, and has been confronted with extreme weather events whose intensity and frequency have increased due to climate change, scientists say.

This year not only massive-very big scale forest fire.

Heatwave in Europe. Mediterranean 5°C hotter than it should be. North Atlantic Ocean surface hotter than it has ever been. Why are you not worried about this? This is not weather. This is shattering climate records.

Today's global temperature was 1.68°C above the 1850-1900 baseline, crushing the Paris accord limit of 1.5°C. But breaking 1.5°C on a day is not the same as breaking it for a year, which is not the same as the long-term average being above 1.5°C -- and that's the Paris accord.

Mid-July is the hottest time of year for many in the Lower 48 states, but the historically intense heat dome that’s sprawled over the southern and western U.S. is exceptional and pushing temperatures into uncharted territory. Triple-digit temperatures are expected to impact at least 10 states into the weekend, with cities such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Fresno and Salt Lake City flirting with all-time records.

On Friday (July 14th, 2023), nearly 115 million Americans are under heat alerts from South Florida to the interior of Washington state. This number could grow over the weekend when excessively hot weather will peak and cover the most territory.

Overnight low temperatures in Phoenix are not dropping below 90 degrees, and the unhoused are struggling with no relief from the heat.

The unforgiving heat wave has already set records for longevity from Florida to Arizona and shows little sign of easing.

El Paso has logged a record 27 days in a row at or above 100 degrees. Phoenix is destined for a 15th consecutive day at or above 110, closing in on the record of 18 days. And Miami has tallied a record 33 days in a row with heat indexes — a measure of how hot it feels factoring in humidity — of at least 100.

Because of tropical levels of humidity, heat indexes in the Southeast, Gulf Coast and southern Plains are through the roof. Paul’s Valley, Okla., about 50 miles south of Oklahoma City, observed a heat index of 126 degrees on Thursday, the highest in the history of the Sooner State’s weather station network, which has operated for the past three decades.

In the Southwest, where it’s a dry heat, actual air temperatures have already surpassed 110 degrees and could reach 120 or higher over the weekend. The air temperature in Death Valley, Calif., could hit at least 130 degrees, matching or exceeding the highest reading reliably measured anywhere worldwide.

“Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities,” warned the National Weather Service.

The heat wave is occurring amid the hottest period for the planet in modern records. According to the University of Maine’s Climate Re-analyzer tool, the average global temperature has exceeded previous record levels since July 3.

The ridge of high pressure, known colloquially as the "heat dome," swells and intensifies into next week. (WeatherBell)

The prolonged heat wave is set to stick around as long as the responsible heat dome, or stagnant ridge of high pressure over the southern U.S., remains in place. According to the Weather Service office in Phoenix, the heat dome’s intensity will peak “right around record levels” this weekend. It’s managed to become a semi-stationary feature of the large-scale weather pattern over North America during the past few weeks, and has hardly budged.

Signs don’t point to it going away any time soon. Abnormally hot weather should stick around for at least the next week.

Across California and the Southwest, temperatures will challenge or break records in a number of locales this weekend:

Las Vegas is forecast to hit 118 degrees on Sunday. That would break the city’s all-time record high of 117. Overnight lows may not drop below 90 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

In California’s Central Valley, highs will range between 105 and 112 degrees, even in the far northern reaches of the Valley. Sacramento will likely tie a daily record of 108 on Sunday; Redding will be near 113 degrees, which will fall shy of the record of 117.

In Fresno, the all-time record is 115 degrees. The Weather Service office in Hanford, Calif., estimates a 24 percent chance that number will be matched on Sunday. Merced, Calif., won’t hit its all-time record, but it’s forecast to make it to 116 degrees Sunday, which would eclipse the current July record of 114, set on both July 17, 1925, and July 24, 1902.

Salt Lake City has a chance to challenge its all-time high of 107 on Sunday.

Death Valley is now forecast to reach between 127 and 132 degrees both weekend days, near the modern record of 130.

Phoenix has set calendar day records for its warmest minimum temperatures the last two mornings (Wednesday and Thursday), dropping to only 94 and 95 degrees. Such warm nighttime temperatures are particularly dangerous for those without access to air-conditioning, because of the lack of relief from the heat stress on the body that accumulates during the day. Phoenix also tied a record afternoon high of 114 degrees on Thursday.

It’s probable Phoenix will approach records of 117 and 118 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, with about a 20 percent chance of hitting 120, according to the Weather Service. The city is expected to clinch its hottest week on record by early next week.

A chart of high and low temperatures in Phoenix as simulated by the European mode. (WeatherBell)

Across California’s Central Valley, temperatures will run 8 to 15 degrees above average this weekend, resulting “in a major to extreme risk for heat-related illnesses for much of the population,” tweeted the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Temperature records will be difficult to come by over the southern Plains, including in Texas, where most places away from the coast will range between 102 and 108 on Friday. Through the weekend, north Texas will drop back into the upper 90s, while Oklahoma settles into the upper 80s. That’s encouraging news, but until then, blistering heat will linger.

Unlike in the Southwest, it’s not a dry heat. Exceptional humidity is overlapping with the heat to push heat indexes to 110 degrees or greater. Dew points, a measure of how much moisture is present in the air, leaped over 80 degrees in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City recorded a dew point of 81, which for comparison means that every cubic meter of air is holding more than half a shot glass’s worth of water in it. That made for an afternoon heat index of 112 degrees on Thursday (July 13, 2023).

The most brutal combination of heat and humidity is concentrated in south Florida, where a heat advisory remains in effect until Sunday. While highs are expected to hover in the lower to mid 90s, which isn’t outlandish, a marine heat wave is helping pump astonishing amounts of moisture into the air. Much of South Florida will face heat indexes in the 105 to 110 degree range for the next couple of days before moderation into early next week.

That same marine heat wave, which is contributing to water temperatures of 95 to 98 degrees in the Keys and Everglades, is damaging coral as well.

Heat dangers

🌡️🥵 Stay AHEAD of the heat: Prep for the incoming heatwave now by taking simple steps to be proactive against dangerous temperatures and heat related illnesses #nvwx #cawx #azwx #vegasweather pic.twitter.com/U9vUfIObkb

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) July 14, 2023

Both dry and humid heat pose dangers to health.

During a dry heat, sweat evaporates quickly from our skin. That can desiccate and dehydrate a person before they even realize they’re sweating.

“‘It’s the desert, of course its hot,’ - This is a DANGEROUS mindset!,” tweeted the Weather Service office in Las Vegas. “This heatwave is NOT typical desert heat due to its long duration, extreme daytime temperatures, & warm nights.”

If an air mass is too humid, meanwhile, it prevents the sweat from evaporating from someone, preventing the evaporative cooling that’s the purpose behind why we sweat in the first place.

During episodes of extreme heat, minimizing outdoor exposure is recommended, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable populations. Heat is deadlier than tornadoes, hurricanes and floods combined in the United States.

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-prada- Adi Mulia Pradana is a Helper. Former adviser (President Indonesia) Jokowi for mapping 2-times election. I used to get paid to catch all these blunders—now I do it for free. Trying to work out what's going on, what happens next. Arch enemies of the tobacco industry, (still) survive after getting doxed. Now figure out, or, prevent catastrophic situations in the Indonesian administration from outside the government. After his mom was nearly killed by a syndicate, now I do it (catch all these blunders, especially blunders by an asshole syndicates) for free.

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