Zombie fires in US-Canada

IAS Current Affairs

1 year ago

Overview

The blanket of wildfire smoke that spread across large parts of the U.S. and Canada in 2023

This showing what climate change could feel like in the near future for millions of people.
Air pollution levels that force people indoors.
These fires aren’t just burning in trees and grasses, they moving into the ground as well.
These underground fires are known as zombie fires.

Wildfires may cause zombie flames, which are so named because they appear to have risen from the dead.
Photo by Marcus Kauffman on Unsplash
Zombie fires also known as overwintering fires.
Even after a wildfire has been put out on the surface, it may continue to burn covertly underneath thanks to peat and methane.
Duration: These flames may continue to burn all winter long while being concealed by snow.
- Wildfires are susceptible to re-igniting and spreading in the spring when the temperature increases, the snow melts, and the soil dries up.
Challenges for Extinguish: As they are mostly underground they are difficult to stop and need more peoples for a long period of time.

What worries the Zombie Fire?

Due to the shifting environment, Arctic soils can burn slowly.
They may produce significant volumes of smoke that are released into the sky.
Depth
- In 2023, there will still be fires smouldering dozens of feet beneath in carbon-rich peatlands.
- Using heavy machinery to dig the fire regions becomes problematic since peat fires can cause the earth to become unstable.
Arctic amplification refers to the fact that the Arctic is warming almost four times as quickly as the rest of the planet.
- Arctic has already exceeded a 2° C
Contribute to more lightning strikes, which may cause fires.
They more smoke and carry ultra fine particles.
- Smoke plumes that cover vast geographical regions.
- 1997, peat fires in Indonesia sent across Southeast Asia and parts of Australia.
- This increased carbon emissions.

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