California blazes

Wednesday 15th January, 2025

Wildfires in the US, engulfing parts of Southern California, have left the world agape. They have already claimed 24 lives and gutted countless properties including 12,000 houses and caused an economic loss of over USD 150 billion so far. Besides, thousands of wild animals are believed to have perished in the blazes. The environmental cost of the unfolding wildfires is said to be incalculable. Particle pollution has added another dimension to the catastrophe, rendering millions of people vulnerable to heart and lung diseases.

Los Angeles was bracing for more extreme winds and flames at the time of writing. The residents in vulnerable areas have been warned of a possible explosive fire growth. It is feared that if meteorological forecasts hold, the horrors of fire-weather will continue into the summer and perhaps spread to the northern parts of California as well—absit omen!

Wildfires in California, which is no stranger to such blazes, were expected to occur with the official arrival of La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean a couple of weeks ago, heralding a drought in the southern parts of the state, but nobody thought they would develop into an inferno of this magnitude. Nothing is so certain as the unexpected where extreme weather events are concerned.

It is doubtful whether anything worse could have happened to southern California; the average rainfall has been about 2% of normal for areas like Los Angeles, and Santa Ana wind gusts reached a record 100 mph. According to weather forecasters, there will be no rains in Southern California until the end of January. The predictability of even usual weather events is diminishing owing to climate change. This is a disconcerting proposition for not only the US but also the rest of the world.

One particular dimension of wildfires such as the raging ones in California has not apparently received much attention. It is the possibility of fire weather conditions being weaponised. All it takes to wreak havoc on a country which experiences extreme weather events is a match stick or a lighter during a dry spell, which turns vegetation into highly combustible fuel, with winds matching the speed of freeway traffic. The California wildfires have demonstrated the vulnerability of even a super power like the US while big powers are reportedly experimenting with ‘tectonic weapons’ capable of triggering seismic events.

While hearts are going out to the victims of the catastrophic wildfires in the US, the world must spare a thought for the Palestinians who are enduring a humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, devastated by Israeli airstrikes carried out with US help.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, whose government has been helping Israel reduce Gaza to rubble by generously providing Tel Aviv with funds and weapons despite widespread protests, came very close to realising what it was like to lose one’s own house, when her private residence in Los Angeles was threatened by the Palisades blaze. It is hoped that outgoing President Joe Biden will redouble his efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza before leaving office.

Ironically, the California wildfires have occurred a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump, one of the leading climate change deniers, as the 47th US President. Unless the Republicans, during Trump’s second nonconsecutive term, care to take cognisance of the obvious and act accordingly, the US will find it even more difficult to face disasters supercharged by climate change. BBC has reported, quoting scientists, that rapid swings between dry and wet conditions in California—known as whiplash—due to climate change have yielded a huge amount of tinder-dry vegetation that is ready to ignite. Many other countries, especially those in the tropics, are equally vulnerable to the ill-effects of climate change, such as whiplash and blazes of extreme intensity.