Worsening wildfires, B.C.-like flooding part of 'new reality' driven by climate change: study
Eight of the worst wildfire weather years the world has ever recorded happened in the past decade, a new study from Canadian scientists revealed Thursday.
The research team believes lower humidity and higher temperatures will continue to contribute to more burning, which can also make flooding worse in and around recent fire zones.
“Extreme conditions drive the world’s fire activity,” wildfire expert Michael Flannigan was quoted in a news release from the University of Alberta.
“It's not a big surprise, but with climate change, we expect warmer conditions to continue and this trend to continue, expand and get worse.”
Flannigan conducted the study with help from Natural Resources Canada scientist Piyush Jain and the U of A's Sean Coogan.
The study examined "extreme fire weather trends from 1979 to 2020 using common fire weather indexes that provide estimates for fire intensity and rate of fire spread, as well as changes in vapour pressure, or humidity."
The team concluded that decreasing relative humidity was a driver in more than 75 per cent of increases in fire intensity and spread and increasing temperature was a driver in 40 per cent of significant trends.
The team also found that B.C. recorded three of five of their worst fire years ever in 2017, 2018 and 2021.
Flannigan said this is a factor in making flooding there worse.
“When you remove the vegetation, the rain is not being intercepted by the trees, the roots aren't picking up the moisture, there is nothing to give the soil stability — you're much more likely to see land and mudslides in burnt areas," he said.
“This has been documented in California for years.”
The study was published in Nature Climate Change, a monthly academic journal that focuses on climate change.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.