Catastrophic fires also threaten Alaska as a result of the melting ice. Climate change creates not only more flooding and cyclones, but also more droughts and heat waves. "There is either too much water or too little, and both extremes pose a threat to survival," Shiva notes.
On Alaska's Kenai Peninusla, for example, 38 million trees died. Officials called citizens to create a "defensible space" around houses for fire protection. Two major fires occurred on the peninsula last year. With temperatures already in the 80s in mid-May, officials fear more major fires.
As droughts mount around the world, fires set accidentally or on purpose by humans will increase. Before the first offical day of summer wildfires had already scorched over 2 million acres this year in the Western United States. This is more than double the ten-year average for the entire year. Colorado and Arizona are experiencing their worst wildfires ever, which will probably not be extinguished until the fall. This burning trend is likely to worsen over this summer and in the future.
On Alaska's Kenai Peninusla, for example, 38 million trees died. Officials called citizens to create a "defensible space" around houses for fire protection. Two major fires occurred on the peninsula last year. With temperatures already in the 80s in mid-May, officials fear more major fires.
As droughts mount around the world, fires set accidentally or on purpose by humans will increase. Before the first offical day of summer wildfires had already scorched over 2 million acres this year in the Western United States. This is more than double the ten-year average for the entire year. Colorado and Arizona are experiencing their worst wildfires ever, which will probably not be extinguished until the fall. This burning trend is likely to worsen over this summer and in the future.