Climate Change Intensify Heat Dome In Pacific Northwest In 2021, Study Says

The fatal heat dome that covered the Pacific Northwest in record-high temperatures for weeks in 2021 was exacerbated by climate change, according to a new study.

Heat Dome In 2021

The 2021 heatwave in the Pacific Northwest caused extreme temperatures in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

On June 29, the small town of Lytton, British Columbia, experienced the highest ever recorded temperature in Canada at 49.6  degrees Celsius, resulting in a wildfire that destroyed the town.

The high temperatures in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon were later linked to fires that accounted for up to one-third of the total land burned on the continent that year.

The study found that the heat dome in June and July 2021 was 34% larger and lasted 59% longer than a similar occurrence without global warming.

Researchers analyzing 40 years of data discovered that the 2021 heat dome was 36% stronger and nearly 40% larger than the next greatest event of its kind, which occurred in the summer of 2003.

"When we look at the trends ... we find that these events are becoming more intense," said Piyush Jain, the study's lead author and a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service and Natural Resources Canada.

The 2021 heat dome lasted 27 days, from June 18 to July 14, and caused hundreds of deaths in western Canada and the United States, including over 600 in British Columbia. alone.

In the United States, both Seattle and Portland, Oregon, broke maximum temperature records on successive days in late June 2021, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other states outside the heat dome, including California and as far east as Montana, broke or tied their own heat records during that time period.

Read Also: Pacific Northwest Heatwave: New Study Reveals Mystery Behind the Scorching Temperatures of Summer 2021

Severe Wildfire

That summer also saw an exceptionally severe wildfire season, which the new study says was "unequivocally intensified by the presence of the heat dome."

According to researchers, approximately 3.2 million hectares burned across North America in July 2021 alone, the highest area recorded in a single month over the previous 20 years.

Smoke from fires in Canada and the United States reached as far east as New Brunswick and New York City.

The researchers discovered that 21 percent of the land burned in North America that year was caused by fires that started during and within the heat dome. When fires that started within ten days of the event were included, the rate increased to 34%.

According to the study, the "widespread and synchronous" wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere strained firefighting resources and kept national emergency preparedness levels at the highest thresholds in both Canada and the United States for record-breaking periods of time (50 and 69 days, respectively).

Jain stated that the issue of limited resources was also evident during the 2023 wildfire season, which once again broke records for area burned-tthis time for a whole season in North American history.

He stated that when more regions that generally share firefighting troops face their own fire dangers at the same time, it will become more difficult to battle them successfully.

The new study contributes to a growing body of climate change-confirming information, which other scientists believe should be expanded upon.

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