Air quality forecasting is getting better, thanks in part to AI. That’s good, given the health impact of air pollution. An environmental engineer explains how systems warn of incoming smog or smoke.
Twenty-five years of research show what it takes to fuel wildland firefighters through an average day, and the toll the long seasonal work takes on their bodies.
No one plans a European holiday thinking of fleeing from fire or sheltering from intense heat. But the climate crisis is forcing a reckoning – tourism as we knew it will have to change.
With tourists flocking in droves to ‘experience’ heat waves, perhaps it’s time for everyone to take a good hard look at their individual contribution to global warming.
To effectively address climate hazards like wildfire, we must consider the diverse experiences of people, account for longstanding institutions and create processes that empower local people.
Large stretches of the Arctic are carbon-rich peat bogs. As the region warms and dries, lightning strikes can spark underground fires that can burn for years.
Zombie fires smoulder through the winter and reignite in the early spring. How these fires behave is not well understood, but they can contribute to an earlier and longer fire season.
Many response decisions to crises cannot be made in advance because each event is unique and has its own specific characteristics. But it is still possible to prepare for the future.
Nearly 22 million people lived within 3 miles of a US wildfire in the past two decades. A new study tracking their locations flips the script on who is at risk.
Wildfire Specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor Bren School of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University