2020: Another Year on Our Warming Planet

By: Meredith Stewart

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was one hell of a year...literally. We started the year on the verge of World War III and ended it just before the first ever storming of the Capitol building by America’s own citizens. If there’s one story that stayed consistently in the news before being overshadowed by a new virus found in Wuhan, China, the potential impeachment of President Trump, or murder hornets migrating to North America, it was the story of raging wildfires. 

We kicked off 2020 with fires blazing throughout Australia. The continent’s dry season lasts roughly from March until October. 2019 being the driest and hottest year on its record paired with abnormally high winds improved Australia’s climate’s ability to breed infernos. Normally these fires burn in less populous locations, but last year they burned frighteningly close to tourist attractions and consumed cities with heavy haze. The dry season has finally concluded, and Australia is experiencing a healthy drop in wildfire numbers. Nevertheless, the 2020 wildfires left millions of acres of land destroyed, ruined animal habitats, and displaced or killed a number of Australians. 

Next, California experienced hell halfway across the world. 4.1 million acres burned, destroying homes and killing the state’s famous Giant Redwood and Joshua Trees. The intensity of these wildfires was unique. Five of California’s six most destructive wildfires occurred in 2020. Similarly to the Australian wildfires, the California fires greatly affected populated cities. Thick smoke hung over the Golden Gate Bridge as residents gasped for clean air. The fires indirectly killed citizens because of the poor air quality they created. 

A wetland is the last place I would think ideal for a wildfire to burn, but Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands were engulfed in flames. Wetlands posses the most biodiversity on Earth making their destruction especially devastating. The water drains from these unique biomes during the dry months which explains the spike in fires from August-October. Although these fires didn’t affect civilians as the Australian and Californian fires did, they devastated wildlife. Vast populations of exotic animals such as giant otters and blue hyacinth macaws were wiped out by the infernos, not to mention the mass destruction of healthy trees and other plants. 

Although the news is centrally focused on the second impeachment trial of President Trump and the riot at the nation’s Captiol, we must remember that these wildfires continue to burn. Global warming will continue to be a prevalent issue in our society as this new year progresses. 


Sources: 

The Catalystglobal warming, 2020, bushfires, environment, environmental awarenessComment