All these western fires are not helping the drought. Literally.

A new study in Geophysical Research Letters that was led by Cynthia Twohy shows that smoky air forms clouds that are significantly smaller, reflect a lot more sunlight, and produce less rain than clouds in clean air. Put another way, the drought will be prolonged because the drought-driven fires are creating smoke that reduces rainfall which then lengthens the drought.

This is a cycle that can only be broken if we can stop the fires from starting. Unfortunately, there are folks out there who seem to just want to watch the world burn. While the Dixie Fire appears to have been started by a PG&E equipment accident, an arsonist has been arrested for setting fires designed to trap and kill firefighters while also expanding the fires.

More Information

AGU press release

“Biomass Burning Smoke and Its Influence on Clouds Over the Western U. S.,” Cynthia H. Twohy et al., 2021 July 26, Geophysical Research Letters