California’s wildfire season started early this year and as of 26th April, the state recorded around 1,100 fires (more than double the average of last five years), going by local media reports. California is experiencing the worst drought since the middle of 1970's.
The Etiwanda Fire kindled in the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California, near the suburban community of Rancho Cucamonga on 30th April quickly spread across more than 2,000 acres.
Controlling wildfires
The lush green Mount Baldy in southern California is nestled under the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains and generally remains snow covered during this part of the year and if not, increases the chances of wildfires. As the bushes, grasses and trees are already ready to fire up, the local authorities are trying to mitigate the risks by safely carrying out controlled burns.
This month could look like an explosive summer wildfire season for the drought-parched California but what if we have El Nino year? Here’s the response from weather experts.
Could El Nino be beneficial for California?
El Nino reduces the frequency of Hurricanes but not their intensity or ferociousness. Statistics suggest that below normal hurricanes are observed in an El Nino Year but it does not take away the devastating potential of the tropical storms. Parts of the southwest United States of America and the Pacific Coast where California lies also experience heavy rain and floods due to hurricanes.
According to G.P. Sharma of Skymet Meteorology Division in India, El Nino is growing but not amplifying at present. However, conditions seem favourable for the system to cross the threshold and reach the 0.5 mark leading to adverse conditions across the globe including North America. El Nino causes droughts in Asian sub-continents while it leads to severe floods in both mainland and the North Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, El Nino is evolving as of now, but is expected to get arrested towards later half of the year. There is only a 30 per cent chance of this phenomenon getting stronger.
An El Nino generally results in wetter than normal conditions in the tropical latitudes of North America. Therefore we can infer that El Nino definitely causes adverse weather conditions, shakes up climate across the world, changing rain and temperature patterns but it could provide some relief from wildfires in California.
picture courtesy- Time
