CLIMATE: Get to causes

Monday’s weekly column on weather by Randy Mann dealt with “the destructive wildfires erupting across the West, and in Europe as well.” Mann referred to an article in the journal Earthsky, saying that “fire seasons in this country have expanded by an average of 78 days.”

I looked up the article, written by Cassandra Moseley, a University of Oregon professor. The full quotation from the Earthsky article is, “According to the Forest Service, climate change (italics added) has expanded the wildfire season by an average of 78 days per year since 1970.” Professor Moseley describes other factors contributing to the extent and damage of wildfires now compared to the past, and including increased fuels (addressed by Mann), increased housing development in the urban-wildland interface (not addressed).

Randy Mann certainly recognized the role of weather as a driver of wildfire, citing record heat and drought as causes of wildfires in Europe and elsewhere across the northern hemisphere, but made no mention of climate (those weather conditions prevailing in general over a long period). It is a fact that average global temperatures have been much warmer during recent decades compared to those of a century ago, and an overwhelming proportion of climate scientists agree that the trends are largely due to human activities.

We commend Mr. Mann for discussing the important topic of wildfire. But if we hope to begin to deal with this problem, we must address the real causes.

JAMES BYLER

Dalton Gardens

Editor’s note: See Randy Mann’s column Monday on this topic.