Ever wondered how our universe might endij Well, the US' forest-fire season is underway as whirling flames, smoke-choked air and spitting flames spiral into the California sky. The fire that started in Carr in July has been flagged as the largest of the 17 wildfires wreaking havoc on the West Coast, destroying almost 1,500 buildings in the State of California alone. The destructive Thomas fire last year that spread across the counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara has recorded as the largest by size in the history of the State.
Exhausted California firefighters battle these unpredictable blazes every year. The containing operation and evacuation process is still on as conflagrations are tearing their way through the vineyards and dry vegetation of Northern California. The wine country fires are catalysed by unusually powerful weather conditions. This might be the new normal for California.
At the other end of the world, Greece too suffered as one the biggest fires in decades near Athens sent panicked residents flee from the city while Sweden is facing its worst wildfires in years which are proving impossible to extinguish.
This phenomenon has even got a moniker now -- “firenado”. As the climate warms, those in areas susceptible to wildfires should expect drastic swings in wet and dry seasons. The reality is that human-inflicted climate change will further fiddle with the atmospheric patterns.
The needle is moving, nobody has any clue where and how it will stop. Who knows what will follow…
