Extreme weather conditions in the Mediterranean came earlier than usual this year; There were heat waves in Greece, Cyprus and Turkey and severe floods in Mallorca. Some weather experts say this could be the beginning of a sweltering summer ahead. Greece is suffering its earliest heatwave yet, with temperatures of 43C recorded at central and… Read More »
In the United States, wildland firefighters can stop approximately 98% of wildfires before the fires burn even 100 acres. This may seem reassuring, but decades of rapid fire suppression have had unintended consequences. Fires are a natural part of many landscapes around the world. When forests are not allowed to burn, they become denser and… Read More »
Texas is no stranger to winter wildfires, but the severity of the Smokehouse Creek fire — the state’s largest fire on record after burning more than 1 million acres — caught even experts off guard. Its severity was due to a perfect storm of environmental factors: highly flammable grasses and strong winds, coupled with record… Read More »
Abnormally high temperatures, dry grass and a windy cold front combined to create the conditions for the devastating wildfires that ripped through parts of Texas this week. The winds sending wildfires across the Texas Panhandle came at the perfect time of day for destruction, “like a hurricane making landfall at high water,” said Texas State… Read More »
The year 2023 was marked by extraordinary temperatures, forest fires and weather disasters. An unprecedented heat wave in the U.S. pushed Texas and much of the Southwest to well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) for the entire month of July. Historic rainfall in April flooded Fort Lauderdale, Florida with 25 inches of rain in… Read More »