On Aug. 19, California Governor Gavin Newsman reported that the state of California was battling 367 known wildfires. These fires have made devastating changes as 90,000 people were told to evacuate their homes, and the air quality is rapidly declining from all of the smoke.

Warnings have been placed throughout most of California warning the citizens of the dangerous fires. It has been proved that the temperature of the United States has increased by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1.0 degrees Celsius) over the period 1901 to 2016. Annual temperatures are expected to rise by about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to this extreme change in temperatures, the environment will try to adapt as well. Heat waves, forest fires, and droughts are likely to increase.   

When President Trump was asked, “Do you believe that human pollution, greenhouse gas emission, contributes to global warming?”, he responded with “I think a lot of things do.” He blames the wildfires only on poor forest management.

When asked the same question, senior Sophia Ryan responded with “yes, because human pollution is litter in the streets and ocean gas from our cars, and overuse of chemicals. Global warming is an increase in the Earth’s temperature, which is caused by pollutants, of which we create.”

While forest management can create small holes in the forest to help fires to stop spreading, it can help to stop wildfires from spreading. Even though the long-term heating of the planet which results from humans’ greenhouse gas emissions, it is not the only cause of the fires. However, it can be related to the increase in severity, and frequency.  

These wildfires are exposing thousands of people to hazardous air pollutants. Senior Amelia Lockett said that “the public health of California is deeply affected by the wildfires because they create air pollution that’s difficult to clean.”

Based on prior studies of pollution-related deaths and the number of people exposed to recent fires, researchers at Stanford University estimated that as many as 3,000 people over the age of 65 in California have died prematurely after being exposed to smoke during a six week period beginning Aug. 1.  The smoke from wildfires affected millions of people with hazardous pollutants, causing emergency room visits to spike. Major cities in Oregon have been hit hard with the highest pollution levels they have ever reported. The smoke from these fires is considered more dangerous because they cannot be seen with the naked eye and can be inhaled causing respiratory issues. 

Fire takes three main components to ignite: the right weather, the right climate, and a spark. Climate change has affected the first two parts that have become more obvious over the past few decades. Since the Industrial Revolution, the world has been heating up due to humans burning things like fossil fuels which release heavy amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

If hot air isn’t at 100% humidity, it acts like a sponge soaking up whatever water it comes into contact with. The hotter and drier the sponge gets the more water it can hold this can cause plants and soils to become severely dehydrated. With lower moisture in the soils, it can increase the fire risk.