China News Service, May 25. According to the US Overseas Chinese News Network, in 2020, the fire season in the western United States has set a record, and the situation in 2021 may be even worse.
According to the Associated Press, this time of year, the soil in the west is the driest.
In most parts of this area, the extremely dry plants have become fuel for fires. For example, some of the dead juniper trees in the southwest are full of flammable needles.
On May 15th, local time, smoke billowed from a wildfire in Topan California Park in the north of Los Angeles, USA.
Scientists say that the extreme drought caused by climate change for more than 20 years has made fires more dangerous.
UCLA climate and fire scientist Williams calculated that the soil in the west in 2021 will be the driest year since 1895.
He said: "This means that there may be a lot of forest fires this year. The fire season this summer will be more drier than this time last year."
According to data from the National Drought Monitoring Agency, the proportion of arid areas in California now exceeds 73%.
In addition, a year ago, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah did not experience extreme or abnormal drought conditions, but now 90% of Utah, 86% of Arizona, and 75% of Nevada are in such a bad situation. in.
In New Mexico, the extreme or abnormal drought rose from 4% last year to 77% now.
On May 15, local time, a fire was burning on the top of the mountain in Topan California Park in the north of Los Angeles, USA.
According to reports, the wildfire started on Friday and had spread over 750 land by Saturday night. Residents in the Topanga area were forcibly evacuated.
However, the report also said that this does not mean that the 2021 fire season will definitely be worse than 2020.
Last year, more than 15,800 square miles of American land suffered fires.
Some scientists said that last year's fire was not only due to the hot and dry environment, but also some other special circumstances.
For example, two intense heat waves, one of which almost set a record for the highest temperature on the earth in Death Valley. The abnormal lightning weather in California is also one of the reasons, but this situation is unlikely to happen for two consecutive years.
In addition, extremely dry and dying trees have made scientists more worried.
McMillin, director of the Forest Health District of the Arizona Federal Forest Service, said that juniper trees are dying due to years of drought. Officials have not made accurate statistics, but it is estimated that the number of dead juniper trees is between 5% and 30%, and in some places it may be as high as 60%. The needles of these dead juniper trees are highly flammable objects. (Finish)