Story at a glance
- California’s wet season has gradually moved from November to December since the 1960s, delaying rainfall.
- Experts think this could exacerbate future wildfires in the state.
New research suggests that the devastating California wildfires could be exacerbated by the state’s rainy season being delayed a month, in contrast to historical trends, Reuters reports.
Based on research conducted at the University of Belgrade in Serbia, scientists say that while they could not formally establish a relationship between the change in the rainy season to climate change directly, it coincides with the known adverse effects of rising temperatures.
In the U.S., 2020 saw around 57,000 wildfires across the country, with five of the top 20 largest wildfires in California state history occurring the same year. More than 4.2 million acres were burned statewide, resulting in 10,488 structures being damaged or outright destroyed and 33 deaths.
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Recent meteorological records reveal California’s rainy season has been starting in December, approximately one month later than it did in the 1960s.
As dry conditions and hot, arid temperatures are a key component of how wildfires spread so rapidly throughout California, a stalled wet season makes the state more susceptible to frequent fire incidents.
Instead, rainfall is being seen primarily in January and February in California.
“What we’ve shown is that it will not happen in the future, it’s happening already,” Jelena Luković, a climate scientist at the University of Belgrade and author of the study told The Mercury News. “The onset of the rainy season has been progressively delayed since the 1960s, and as a result the precipitation season has become shorter and sharper in California.”
The now dry conditions in November could provide ample fuel for wildfires. Together with the gusty Santa Ana and Diablo winds that occur around that month as well, what should be a respite from wildfire season only prolongs it.
“There was a time when the public could essentially let their guard down from wildfire,” Isaac Sanchez, a battalion chief with CalFire, told the press. “But that time doesn’t exist anymore, especially in certain parts of the state.”
Compounding this phenomenon are clear increases in temperature. 2020 set records for heat in the U.S., with it not only seeing the hottest September ever recorded, but 2020 itself was the second-hottest year, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
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