Wildfires are raging across the western United States, as the region suffers from a heat wave that has set records in numerous regions. As firefighters battle the blazes in the harsh weather, residents have been advised to flee.
Two firemen were killed when their plane crashed while responding to a blaze in Arizona.Meanwhile, the temperature in Las Vegas tied its all-time high.Firefighters battling the region’s numerous wildfires say the air is so dry that much of the water dropped by planes to put out the flames evaporates before reaching the ground.
wildfires flare across western states in United States
It comes just weeks after another severe heat wave rocked North America, resulting in hundreds of untimely deaths, many of which were considered to be caused by the heat. June was the hottest on record in the region. Extreme weather phenomena, such as heat waves, are projected to become more common as a result of climate change, according to experts.However, it is difficult to attribute any particular incident to global warming.
The heat that burned western Canada and the United States at the end of June, according to a study by climate researchers, would have been “nearly unthinkable” without Arizona’s Bureau of Land Management paying tribute to the two “brave wild land firefighters.” On Saturday about noon local time (19:00 GMT), the accident occurred near the small town of Wikieup. Further details were not immediately available, and the firefighters have yet to be identified. People were evacuated from their houses in northern Nevada, near the California border, when wildfires sparked by lightning struck areas of the Sierra Nevada forest region.
According to the Los Angeles Times, one fire that more than quadrupled in size between Friday and Saturday produced a massive cloud of smoke and ash that, when mixed with the dry heat, caused its ow lightning. According to preliminary statistics from the National Weather Service several places in Nevada and California have matched or broken temperature records, and the high heat is predicted to persist.
On Friday, a temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) was reported in Death Valley, California, matching one recorded in August 2020, which some claim is the highest temperature ever accurately recorded on Earth. In 1913, a temperature of 56.7°C (134°F) was recorded in the area, but climate scientists dispute this. Millions of people are under a heat advisory, and those who are impacted are recommended to drink plenty of water and stay in air-conditioned buildings as much as possible.
