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The Los Angeles-area fires have been dominating the news this week, as flames engulf neighbourhoods in the Greater Los Angeles area. These wildfires draw attention to both the global and regional significance of L.A., and the devastating and undiscriminating direct and indirect consequences of climate change and related policies.
As one of the largest megacities in the world, and second-largest in the United States after New York, Greater Los Angeles is a global cultural and trade capital. It is an internationally significant location for entertainment, trade, education and sports industries, and a major contributor to the U.S. economy.
At the time of writing, over 10,000 structures have been destroyed, over 180,000 people have been evacuated and over 30,000 acres have been burned. There have been 10 confirmed fire-related deaths, and the fires have yet to be contained. Scattered and pushed farther by the Santa Ana winds that blow outwards from the desert and onto the Pacific Ocean, the scale, scope, size and duration of these wildfires have been exacerbated by climate change.
2024 was the hottest year on record — the consequences of climate change are only becoming more apparent and extreme.
For your weekend reading, I’m pulling stories from throughout The Conversation global network that look at the L.A. fires as well as stories that shed light on how the impacts of climate change are becoming more dangerous and devastating.
We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday — until then, take care,
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David Bowman, University of Tasmania
We knew this would happen eventually. We have moved from possible futures to these things now happening. The deferment has ended.
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Jon Keeley, University of California, Los Angeles
Where people live today also makes a difference when it comes to fire risk.
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Ming Pan, University of California, San Diego
The state is seeing a sharp water divide this year, with lots of rain in the north while the south has stayed dry. A hydrologist explains what’s happening.
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Andrew King, The University of Melbourne; David Karoly, The University of Melbourne
This record-breaking heat is primarily driven by humanity’s burning of fossil fuels. The warming won’t stop until we reach net-zero emissions.
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Colleen E. Reid, University of Colorado Boulder
The chemicals emitted when buildings and vehicles burn can find their way into nearby homes. Studies show the health risks can stick around.
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Ed Hawkins, University of Reading
These ‘warming stripes’, adopted around the world as a symbol of climate awareness, action and ambition, now include another dark red stripe for 2024.
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Joseph Williamson, UCL
Plants and animals that live in the same community share the same heat tolerance – new study.
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Georgina Ramsay, University of Leicester; Gareth Morgan, University of Leicester; Lauren McGregor, University of Leicester
Some experts say we should see the climate crisis as a collective trauma.
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Alana Chin, Cal Poly Humboldt ; Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich; Marcus Schaub, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)
Water availability regulates tree growth and can have ‘legacy effects’ long after conditions change.
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Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University
Fires can make drinking water, and the water pipes and tanks themselves, unsafe. A researcher who has worked with communities after several wildfires explains why, and what to do.
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Doug Specht, University of Westminster
The heath-related impacts of climate change will reach US$1 trillion a year by 2050.
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