Wildfires off to dramatic start as El Nino approaches

Plus, UK slashes funding to United Nations Green Climate Fund

In today’s edition:

— The world is off to its worst wildfire season start in history, as El Nino approaches

— UK slashes funding to UN’s Green Climate Fund

— Canada’s Mark Carney faces climate change tightrope

— World Health Organization calls climate change a global health crisis

— Gulf of Mexico waters heating up at twice the rate of the world’s oceans

Photo: CALFIRE.

The winds were whipping in Northern California this past weekend, reaching 70 miles per hour at some points and one electric company shut off power to more than 30,000 people to avoid starting wildfires. Down south near Los Angeles, only a year after the historic Palisades fires, several big fires started each day.

Investors, homeowners, insurance companies and local businesses across the U.S. West and in large parts of Europe are bracing for what reports say could be the worst year yet for destructive wildfires, and the El Nino climate shift that threatens to make things even hotter hasn’t even arrived yet.

Only a few years ago, wildfire season was largely a late summer thing, following months of dry, hot weather. Now it’s year around.

Already worldwide almost 600,000 square miles have burned, nearly twice the rate of previous years at this time, according to Bloomberg News, citing the Global Wildfire Information System. The fires not only cause destruction but dramatically add to the pollution in the atmosphere, making climate change even worse and in some cases slowing down the impact of solar energy.

In Europe, fires are ripping through Croatia this week while in Asia fires and haze have been a major problem for Thailand all spring. For every major fire we read about in the news, there are dozens of smaller ones that start and threaten to grow before authorities can clamp down on them.

The financial implications are ominous. They follow the worst year in history last year, in part because of the Los Angeles fires. In the U.S., the political implications for races in California, Texas, and the South, not to mention the midterms, are still to be counted. Stay safe out there.

If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at
dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.

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Tuesday’s subscriber insight

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivering a statement April 29 at 10 Downing Street. Photo: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street.

UK slashes funding to UN’s Green Climate Fund