Climate Impacts Group

America’s Year of Fire and Tempests Means the Climate Crisis Just Got Very Real

Record-breaking wildfires and hurricanes were just the most high-profile effects of global heating — and this is only the start. 

“All of the systems that society depends on were designed to function in the climate of the past,” Snover, Climate Impacts Group director, told the Guardian. “But we no longer live in the climate of the past. The climate disruption brought by warming, changes in precipitation, changes in storms and changes in sea level is destabilizing the foundation of all these systems at once.”  

How Climate Change Affects Wildfires, Like Those in the West, and Makes Them Worse

The consequences climate scientists have long been warning about are coming to fruition in the increased intensity of natural disasters around the globe, recently in the form of devastating wildfires that ravaged the western states and enshrouded areas not plagued with flames under hazes of smoke. 

“These are not unprecedented events,” Dr. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation scientist, told ABC News. “Scientists know these types of fires burned in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but it’s the frequency at which they are now burning that has become a concern.”  

Burnt, Like I Am: After Fires Burn Through Colville Reservation, Efforts Underway to Recover, Adapt

Siblings Jimmy Timentwa and Elaine Timentwa Emerson describe the fires that burned through the Colville Reservation. Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted. A brief on climate change, created for the Colville Tribes, is referenced.  

Case Studies Illustrate How Water Utilities May Adapt to Climate Change

Changing climate has far-reaching impacts, and is testing parts of society’s ability to continue doing business-as-usual.  Among these are water utilities, the entities responsible for delivering clean, fresh water to our nation’s households and managing wastewater and stormwater. The UW Climate Impacts Group in partnership with the Water Utility Climate Alliance is currently helping meet that need by assisting water managers and water utilities understand how climate change will impact their systems and what measures they can adopt now to be proactive in preparing for the future. 

Forest Ecologist Backs Inslee’s Assertion that Wildfires are Worsened by Climate Change

Gov. Jay Inslee has continued his stance that the hundreds of thousands of acres burned by wildfires in Washington state are a result of climate change, bringing a forest ecologist to back research that shows the connection in his latest meeting with the media. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist, is quoted.

“As bad as it is now, as high as the risks are now, they will continue to worsen as long as climate change continues to worsen,” Raymond said. 

Gov. Inslee Points to Climate Change as Wildfires Choke Washington State, West Coast

[Gov. Jay Inlsee] and a fire ecologist warned during a news conference that if something isn’t done about climate change, conditions will worsen for the U.S. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist and fire ecologist, is quoted. 

“As bad as it is now (and) as high as the risks are now, they will continue to worsen as long as climate change is an issue,” Raymond said. “We can expect to see more extreme fire danger days, longer fire seasons and overall greater acreage burned.”  

Wildfire News Updates, September 15: What to Know Today About the Destructive Fires in Washington State and on the West Coast

Destructive wildfires continue to rip through the state, with firefighters battling some 30 fires in Washington and Oregon. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist and a fire ecologist, is quoted.  

As Nearby Fires Reach Containment, Inslee Points to Climate Change

As fires in Eastern Washington slowed down Tuesday, tens of thousands of acres continued to burn in the state, a fact Gov. Jay Inslee attributes to climate change. Crystal Raymond, climate adaptation specialist, is quoted.  

Gov. Inslee: Too Much Suffering to ‘Ignore Clear and Present Danger’ of Climate Change Induced Fires

The air quality across Washington state this week is “unhealthy at best, hazardous at worst,” said Governor Jay Inslee in a Tuesday press conference. Crystal Raymond is quoted.

“The connection between climate change and increasing fire potential across the west has been clearly established by scientists for over a decade,” Raymond said. “The situation that we are in now is unfortunate, but it does not come as a surprise to fire scientists who have been studying this issue for several years across the region.” 

What Makes Smoke Forecasts So Hard to Predict — and How Tech Could Help

For reasons seemingly as numerous as current air pollution readings, guessing at how wildfire smoke will behave is tricky business. Crystal Raymond is quoted in this article from GeekWire. 

“Studies of climate change effects on wildfire show that with continued warming and drier summers, we expect to see more acreage burned and more large wildfires throughout the western US,” Crystal said. “And where there is fire, there is smoke.”