California Climate Report Foresees 'Apocalyptic Threat' From Wildfires

A California climate change report released on Monday foresees an “apocalyptic threat” from wildfires which will dull the spectacular blazes that already have scorched the land this summer.

An estimated 1 million acres have been burned in California wildfires this year alone, the U.S. Forest Service said, according to ABC 7.

The devastation is widespread, but according to California’s newly released climate assessment these weather patterns could become the norm, or even worsen, if nothing is done to stop climate change.

According to the report, the frequency of wildfires could increase by as much as 50 percent by the end of the century, with the average area destroyed by these blazes increasing by 77 percent.

In recent years, extreme heat waves have significantly impacted human health and resulted in thousands of hospitalizations, but the situation is expected to worsen over the next few decades, becoming longer and more frequent in parts such as the Northern Sierra region.

Rising sea levels could also dramatically impact beaches in Southern California, with experts forecasting that between 31 to 67 percent of these coastlines may be completely eroded by 2100 if nothing is done to intervene.

California Gov. Jerry Brown said in a Twitter post that the situation was dire.

“In California, facts and science still matter,” he said. “These findings are profoundly serious and will continue to guide us as we confront the apocalyptic threat of irreversible climate change."

Amir AghaKouchak, an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, and a researcher who contributed to the assessment, said the state would be gripped by extreme weather patterns such as wildfires, drought and massive storms, The Guardian reported.

“There will be two consequences: one is more potentially extreme floods, and the other is problems with drought management,” AghaKouchak said.

There is some hope though, California energy commission chairman Robert Weisenmiller said.

“The good news is that it’s not ‘here’s the dire impact’, but ‘here’s some ways to mitigate the dire impacts’. It should give people some hope,” he said.

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