BY ALAINA INOUYE AND BELLA TRINKO
STAFF WRITERS
Hearing of wildfires in California is not anything new. Many of us have gotten news of wildfires on the west coast many times before. But never has there been this degree of destruction. In only a few weeks six of the twenty largest wildfires in California’s recent history have started. 8,200 wildfires have blazed across California since the beginning of this year. As of October second the fires have burned 3.9 million acres, killed 31 people, and destroyed 8,000 structures. Millions of people are struggling with the increasing air pollution harming their lungs in the midst of a global pandemic. Temperatures are skyrocketing; a temperature of 130 degrees was recorded in Death Valley. The fires are the likes of which we haven’t seen on the west coast for 70 years, and even with all the above tragedies there is more to take into consideration.
Humans aren’t the only species suffering the wrath of the fires. Scientists are afraid that the loss of habitat will imperil many vulnerable species and in turn harm their ecosystems. In the warming climate it is hard to know if certain ecosystems will be able to survive. Biologists predict that the fires have killed half of Washington’s pygmy rabbits, an endangered species. That would mean only fifty remain. This is only one example of many endangered species. Another concern is that trees will have trouble regrowing. This is because more fires could easily start and hold back the tree’s regrowth. These are only a couple of examples of many many environmental concerns due to the fires.
The increasing frequency of the fires in California is due partly to climate change. It was discovered that the number of days with extreme wildfire weather in California has more than doubled since the 1980s, mostly due to warming temperatures that have been drying out vegetation. This research was done by Diffenbaugh and their colleagues last month. Studies have shown that the ozone levels are two parts per billion higher than they would be without global warming! So obviously climate change and global warming is a real thing. Global warming has also been causing increases in wildfire pollution.
Climate change is real and it’s an impending danger. We have to acknowledge that it is real and do everything we can to help our earth.
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