Climate change

Inside Climate News  - Since January, wildfires have burned more than 1.7 million acres across Europe and more than 8.5 million acres in the U.S. “The risk is growing more severe. We’re seeing phenomena that are more violent, more intense and more brutal,” said Christine Bouisset, a wildfire researcher at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research.

 As the threat grows, researchers are also questioning whether the way communities prepare for fire needs to change.  In June, the CNRS published a scientific report on wildfires in which experts argued that climate change is challenging France’s current approach and its lack of community organizations. They pointed to Montecito, California, as an example of successful collaborative wildfire governance. “The question of sharing responsibility between institutions and citizens is a crucial governance issue,” the report said….

 Across the U.S., a range of community organizations work alongside public agencies to help residents prepare for wildfires and reduce risks at the local level.

 The Wildfire Adapted Partnership in Colorado was one of the first organizations to “develop the idea of volunteer neighborhood ambassadors, with community members who serve as examples to their neighbors on what fire-adapted living means,” said Bill Trimarco, Archuleta County program manager at WAP.

 Different states have different programs. “These are tools,” said Kris King, a wildfire mitigation specialist at Lake Wenatchee Fire and Rescue in Washington state. “They’re all trying to do the same thing: to encourage residents to do something.”

Time - According to a new report published Oct. 14 in the journal BioScience, “Earth’s climate system is moving deeper into uncharted territory.”

The State of the Climate, an annual report that tracks the Earth’s “vital signs,” monitors several climate-related indicators—ranging from greenhouse gas concentrations and temperature changes to tree cover loss due to wildfire. The researchers found that, of the 16 planetary vital signs, seven are currently at record extremes. This includes sea levels and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, several others, such as areas burned during wildfires and ocean heat levels, show evidence of acceleration or abrupt shifts. 

The State of the Climate, an annual report that tracks the Earth’s “vital signs,” monitors several climate-related indicators—ranging from greenhouse gas concentrations and temperature changes to tree cover loss due to wildfire. The researchers found that, of the 16 planetary vital signs, seven are currently at record extremes. This includes sea levels and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, several others, such as areas burned during wildfires and ocean heat levels, show evidence of acceleration or abrupt shifts. 

The researchers warn that the rate of global warming appears to have accelerated, from about 0.05°C per decade between 1880 and 1970 to roughly 0.36°C per decade between 2010 and 2024—and that the 2°C threshold meant to limit planetary damage could be reached before 2050. These accelerating and intensifying changes could raise the risk of reinforcing feedback loops and crossing tipping points—critical thresholds that, when crossed, can lead to accelerating and often irreversible environmental changes.

"Earth’s life-support systems are being pushed beyond stable limits," the report states, "with changes unfolding faster than our ability to respond." —Simmone Shah Read the full story here.