The fires in the California and Oregon regions, states on the west coast of the USA, caused apocalyptic skies that resemble the films that take place on Mars. Looking like ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Mad Max’, residents of the Pacific Coast region were surprised by orange days this week and the cause is clear: a climate emergency.
The region, quite dry, is always hit by fire during the arid Californian summer. However, that year, the fires spread quite intensely – largely through direct human action, but also by climatic forces – and now the show, which looks beautiful, reveals a tragic climatic condition in the American West.
“The mystery about the orange skies accompanies the fires in the region. The small particles of smoke affect the way light passes through our atmosphere, ”explained Paul Ulrich, professor of climate at the University of Davis, California, to the Salon portal.
“When light passes a gas molecule, it tends to transform, giving a different perception of light. As the blue light is shorter, the smoke particles cause the longer lights to penetrate the gaseous molecules, and for that reason the sky turns red ”, he added.
Pantanal, California, and Australia
The fires in the Pantanal, California, and Australia are an indication that a change in the planet’s global stance on climate is increasingly present. For those who doubt, the situation on the planet will worsen with or without its acceptance. This, of course, if nothing is done.
“Global warming is creating the hottest and driest conditions in places like Australia and California. This creates the condition for huge fires. Our research shows that there is also another factor. Climate change is doing by changing the speed of hot air masses. Thus, high pressure systems (associated with low humidity and heat conditions) are more likely to stay at this stage for a long time, especially in California, ”said Michael Mann, professor of atmospheric sciences at Pennsylvania State University, to the Salon.
"It's like night time in the day time."
San Francisco's sky is red as wildfires in California continue ⤵️
More here: https://t.co/WNGsnpDiJM pic.twitter.com/UJXYscrlzo— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) September 10, 2020
🚨 #BREAKING [🇺🇸] Apocalyptic sky in #SanFrancisco: The city wakes up shrouded in smoke and full of ash from the 25 active #wildfires in #California, #USA.pic.twitter.com/TTOVE9G6qU
— ISCResearch (@ISCResearch) September 9, 2020