(CNN)In southern Alaska, there are concerns abouthotand a dry start in summer.
According to climate scientist Brian Brett Schneider, Anchorage is experiencing the second warmest June. And with only 0.07 inches of rain in Anchorage this month, the dry wilderness of southern Alaska fuels wildfires.
This year tends to be one of the biggest fire seasons on record.
“This year, about 1 million acres have been burned in Alaska so far, which is typically just over 1 million acres for the entire season,” Brett Schneider explains. According to the National Inter-Ministry Fire Center (NIFC) and the Alaska Inter-Ministry Coordination Center Wildland, the state has burned more than 1.7 million acres as of Thursday and has moved to the highest level of fire preparedness. Fire dashboard.
"The southwestern and northern inland areas of Alaska have been very active with many large-scale fires. NIFC said in a statement Thursday," It's hot. A dry red flag warning is predicted in the Central Cuskowim Valley and the Western Alaska Range from Thursday afternoon to early Friday. " For a new start and rapid fire growth.
The Alaskan fire season usually begins in the last week of May and lasts until mid-August.
Several things have advanced the early wildfires. To Rick Toman, a climate specialist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Due to the limited snow in this area during the winter, the snow melted rapidly and the plants dried.
Mr. Toman is also due to a thunderstorm in late May. A wildfire broke out in southwestern Alaska.
Lightning ignited the state's largest burning fire, the Lime Complex, which consumed more than 600,000 acres as of Thursday.
Areas usually don't burn this because the location inside the tundra is rare, Brett Schneider pointed out early in the season.
Fire science communications expert Zab Gravinsky has confirmed that there is a "trend" in more frequent and large-scale fires.
"From 2000 to 2020, we saw about 2.5 times more fire acres than in the last 20 years," Grabinski said. "Not only is the summer warmer, but there is a tendency for lightning to increase, especially in the interior of Alaska."
Anchorage will be hot above 60 ° F for all 30 days in June. It has never happened at the airport. @AlaskaWx
— Brian Brettschneider (@ Climatologist49)June 27, 2022
Hope for Alaska's salvation It's the rainy season. It usually starts in late July. However, according to Toman, if the fire season begins early, longer fires can burn before the rainy season begins.
"It's just part of our changing climate," Toman said. "This wildfire season can be historic if the rainy season is delayed. In reality, there are enough fires and it will take some time to put them out."
According to Toman, the temperature remains above 60 degrees Celsius, so the weather pattern will not change next week and a cool-down is not expected soon. Much of southwestern Alaska has also experienced moderate droughts, which will continue to contribute to wildfires.
"We have urged Alaskans to be very vigilant about the local burn ban that has been in place for several weeks," said a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Anchorage. Joe Wegman said. "There is definitely a concern on July 4th, and will there be more artificial starts?"
