Climate change and forest management have both fueled today's epic Western wildfires

Debating whether climate change or forest management has caused the devastating wildfires in California, Washington and Oregon is a false choice.

Steven C. Beda, Assistant Professor of History, University of Oregon • conversation
Sept. 16, 2020 • ~10 min
Tags: climate-change donald-trump wildfire forests california us-history wildfire-fighting oregon logging forest-management washington-state us-west endangered-species-act timber-industry us-forest-service

California wildfires: why a gender-reveal party got the blame, but shouldn't have

It's comforting to blame California's wildfires on human stupidity. But this hides a very uncomfortable truth.

Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Westminster • conversation
Sept. 14, 2020 • ~6 min
Tags: climate-change gender california-wildfires wildfire accident us-west

Arctic warming: are record temperatures and fires arriving earlier than scientists predicted?

The high temperatures and wildfires of 2019 were thought to have heralded a freak summer for the Arctic. Then 2020 brought worse.

Christopher J White, Senior Lecturer in Water & Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde • conversation
Sept. 8, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: climate-change wildfire siberia arctic-warming temperature-records climate-modelling

Extreme wildfires can create their own dangerous weather, including fire tornadoes – here's how

Persistent heat waves and dry lightning are part of the problem. For firefighters, the erratic behavior gets dangerous quickly.

Leila Carvalho, Professor of Meteorology and Climatology, University of California, Santa Barbara • conversation
Aug. 25, 2020 • ~6 min
Tags: storms wildfire heat-wave drought natural-disasters weather tornado lightning fire-risk

Western wildfires are spinning off tornadoes – here’s how fires create their own freakish weather

Persistent heat waves and dry lightning are part of the problem. For firefighters, the erratic behavior gets dangerous quickly.

Leila Carvalho, Professor of Meteorology and Climatology, University of California, Santa Barbara • conversation
Aug. 25, 2020 • ~6 min
Tags: storms wildfire heat-wave drought natural-disasters weather tornado lightning fire-risk

It’s Hurricane Preparedness Week, and communities aren't ready for both coronavirus and a disaster

The US faces a high risk of hurricanes and other disasters this year that could leave thousands of people in need of shelter. COVID-19 will make those disasters more dangerous to manage.

Mark Abkowitz, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies, Vanderbilt University • conversation
May 5, 2020 • ~9 min
Tags: health environment covid-19 coronavirus hurricane wildfire public-safety natural-disasters emergency-management fema

The age of stability is over, and coronavirus is just the beginning

The pandemic has exposed how vulnerable we are to unexpected climate shocks.

Wolfgang Knorr, Senior Research Scientist, Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University • conversation
April 16, 2020 • ~5 min
Tags: climate-change coronavirus anthropocene wildfire locusts heatwave desert-locust

Wildfire smoke worsens coronavirus risk, putting firefighters in extra danger

Wildfire smoke makes it harder for firefighters' bodies to fight off viral invaders. But firefighting conditions make the usual protective measures nearly impossible.

Luke Montrose, Assistant Professor of Community and Environmental Health, Boise State University • conversation
April 15, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: health covid-19 coronavirus wildfire coronavirus-2020 natural-disasters

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