Heatwave ‘Supercharged’ by Climate Crisis Poised to Intensify Fires in US West
The U.S. West is bracing for a potentially record-shattering heatwave through Labor Day weekend, with experts warning that scorching temperatures are likely to trigger a spike in heatstroke and deaths and set the stage for a possibly catastrophic fire season this fall.
Extreme heat—”supercharged” by the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis, as environmental scientist Jonathan Overpeck put it—has been building this week and is only projected to get worse in the coming days.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento has forecast triple-digit highs throughout California’s Central Valley from Thursday until Tuesday. Their counterparts in Los Angeles expect similarly dangerous conditions in southern California from Wednesday through Monday, and even the typically cooler Bay Area is under an excessive heat watch in the coming days.
It’s not just Californians who are at risk. Above-average temperatures are on the horizon in several other parts of the region, from the Pacific Northwest to northwest Arizona, where the mercury is projected to hit eight to 12 degrees higher than usual this weekend.
In many states, temperatures shall hover around 80°F overnight, heightening the risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially for unhoused and low-income residents who lack air conditioning or are unable to afford soaring energy costs.
“High temperatures are also expected to accelerate the formation of ground-level ozone, or smog, which exacerbates respiratory issues,” The Guardian reported Wednesday.
In addition, experts are sounding the alarm about how this heatwave “could further prime the parched, drought-addled West for wildfires,” the newspaper noted. So far this year, 48,211 fires have burned more than 6.1 million acres nationwide, which is “well above” the 10-year average, the National Interagency Fire Center reports.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) declared a state of emergency on Sunday “due to the imminent threat of wildfire.”
Originally published at Commondreams.org.
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