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7. California WildfiresCalifornia's wildfire season got off to an unusually early start in June, mainly because of a lack of rain. California endured its driest spring in 114 years of record keeping, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The state spent $305 million on emergency firefighting since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, $236 million more than lawmakers had allocated in their 2008-2009 spending plan. "Through global warming, we have now a fire season all year round," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said. "We used to have fire seasons only in the fall. But now the fire seasons start in February already."Global Warming Link: With global warming, there is more global heating. This dries out the land and vegetation. Then, once the moisture is depleted, the heat goes into raising temperatures. In the absence of rain, there is greater fire risk. Warmer winters also mean pine bark beetles live longer and kill off more trees, producing more fuel for fires. Expert: Kevin Trenberth, trenbert@ucar.edu, 303-497-1318 or Peter Schultz, pschultz@usgcrp.gov, 202-419-3479. Consensus Science: "Wildfires ... are likely to increase in frequency, severity, distribution and duration in the Southeast, the Intermountain West and the West."vi _____________________________________ viThe White House report, "Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States" issued in May 2008, is available online at http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/scientific-assessment/. Back to Extreme Weather 2008 Home |
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1. Hurricane Ike |
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