Many think wildfires are a West Coast disaster - but climate change now puts the East Coast at more risk

Source: The Independent

Monday 11 November 2024 18:11 GMT


Amid one of the worst droughts the region has seen, East Coast states of New York and New Jersey were battling wildfires last weekend - and researchers say climate change will only make it worse.

The fires sparked amid windy weather, warm temperatures and extremely dry conditions. Smoke from New Jersey’s 3,000-acre JenningCek was captured from space and the massive plume could be seen from upstate New York. A brush fire started in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Friday night, burning two acres of dry vegetation at the popular spot. New York City firefighters battled the blaze for hours before it was extinguished. Upstate, 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez was killed Saturday while batting a fire in Sterling Forest.

While many associate wildfire season with western states, fire weather is becoming more common in the Northeast, according to nonprofit Climate Central. The group said Monday that parts of northern New Jersey and coastal New York are experiencing at least 10 additional days of fire weather each year compared to ng the 1970s.

These threats come after the second-warmest October in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 130 years. A record 87 percent of the nation was either in drought or unusually dry conditions. However, the greatest increase in fire weather days is happening during spring. Across the nation, the threat of wildfires is rising, Climate Central noted. “Wildfire seasons are lengthening and intensifying, particularly in the West. Many parts of the East have seen smaller but impactful increases in fire weather days,” the group noted in a recently released report.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/wildfires-california-drought-east-west-coast-b2645076.html

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After 41 days of no "measurable" rain here where I live, I finally got about 1/3" of overnight and early this morning. All of the Philly metro coverage area for the Mt. Holly NWS office had records of from 38 - 43 days without measurable precipitation and that smashed the PREVIOUS records of 29 - 38 days (Philly's record went back to when record-keeping began in 1874).