[ad_1]
Vancouver — Experts say wildfires in western Canada are creating their own meteorological system due to the combination of intense heat and drought conditions.
Michael Fromm, a meteorologist at the U.S. Navy Research Institute, said the phenomenon was known as a Pyrocumronimbus fire and was tracked this year in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. Said that.
Scientists have been tracking the storm since May. The first was seen in Manitoba this season, Fromm said in an interview Monday.
He said the village of Lytton, British Columbia, had two consecutive fires in late June.
“This was probably the biggest Pyrocumronimbus storm of the year so far,” he added.
“In fact, we’re still tracking the smoke eruption from the storm. It’s traveling around the world, traveling around the United States and Canada.”
Abundant fuel, heat and wind create the best conditions for a big fire.
Lytton reached Canada’s temperature record of 49.6 degrees Celsius the day before the wildfire broke out, destroying much of the community.
“When you put all three together, you get the perfect triple called Fire Weather,” says Fromm. “So it’s hot, dry and windy.”
Simon Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia’s Department of Geography, said the storm also produces lightning that causes more fires.
“Fires cause storms, then storms produce lightning, which can cause more fires,” he said.
“That runaway feedback is a dangerous part.”
Above-average temperatures in many parts of BC are not expected to ease soon. The Canadian Ministry of the Environment said there were no signs of showers at least by the weekend in the wildfire-stricken southern region.
The British Columbia Emergency Management Agency said on Monday afternoon that there were more than 250 wildfires in British Columbia. Since the beginning of the fire season on April 1, 1,216 wildfires began on Sunday night, burning 4,142 square kilometers of land.
At that time, there were 58 evacuation orders, affecting 4,260 properties. An additional 83 evacuation warnings were issued. This means that people living in more than 17,500 properties were told that they should be ready to leave the house in a hurry.
Risk remained high in most parts of southern British Columbia on Monday. BC Wildfire Service said 40 flames were ranked as notable fires. This means that the flame is very noticeable or poses an imminent safety risk.
BC is set to get more help in the fight against fire on Tuesday, with 34 Australian firefighters joining 113 from Quebec and 101 from Mexico.
The Australian delegation includes a nine-person incident management team and technical specialists.
The Japan Meteorological Agency predicts that weak winds will blow in some of the most difficult fires, including the 68-square-kilometer Numip Creek flame between Oliver and Osoyoos in southern Okanagan. However, according to the forecast, temperatures will not drop from 30 degrees Celsius to high temperatures throughout the week, and there are no signs of rain.
Showers can moisten parts of southeastern British Columbia. There, fires on both sides of Upper Arrow Lake forced evacuation orders or warnings for hundreds of facilities.
However, the Canadian Ministry of the Environment said the chances of rain are only 30% and will not rain until Saturday at the earliest.
According to Fromm, a storm of Pyrocumronin bath usually begins with a smoldering fire, which activates the surrounding air and creates hot bubbles. He said it produces more energy and creates a convective column that makes the fire hotter and bigger.
“It’s the same as having a stove and a small burner. It doesn’t boil as fast in a pot as it does with a really hot and intense burner,” says Fromm.
“So a big, big fire makes it much easier for the air to shake completely, and if you form a cloud, it creates even more buoyancy, which feeds back into the fire.”
Clouds “foam” in the air, which could lead to lightning, Mr Fromm said.
The storm lasts everywhere for two to five hours, occurs late in the afternoon, and ends when the air gets cold or hits a firebreak, he said.
“When viewed from space like us, we can actually see some cloud bubbles forming and flattening in the upper atmosphere,” he said.
“Then they are blown away, and you see another bubble appear as some chimneys burst in the life of that individual Pyrocumronimbus, that is, 2-5 hours on the ground. The fire is pulsing so that it becomes a very dramatic and dangerous event during. “
Hina Alam
[ad_2]