Australia had massive bush fires that burned through 46 million acres in 2019. It released enough smoke that it was equivalent of a significant volcano. The smoke reached the upper atmosphere, triggering a very rare 3-year La Nina weather event. This was responsible for the flooding in California and the drought in the U.S. South. Australia's colossal bushfires likely made La Niña worse, study finds | CNN
La Niña actually usually means dry weather for California (especially southern CA), this year was a very fortunate anomaly for them. They are now forecasting an El Niño for later this year which usually means a rainy season, so hopefully that comes to pass, they need a few good years in a row. good article on it 'Dry' California got big rains. Was it really an epic weather forecasting fail?
So will the Russian fires do the same? Wildfires rage in Russia's Ural mountains, Siberia Wildfires have engulfed large areas in Russia’s Ural mountains and in Siberia this week, with authorities promising to swiftly contain them. A total of over 54,000 hectares of forests in the Sverdlovsk region in the Urals were on fire as of Monday morning, according to local authorities. More than 4,800 firefighters have been battling the blaze, with some 6,000 volunteers helping them. Head of Russia’s Federal Forestry Agency Ivan Sovetnikov said Monday he expected “most major fires in the region to be contained and put out” within two to three days. It wasn’t immediately clear if such a goal was too optimistic: on Sunday night, the area engulfed in flames stood at 33,000 hectares, but it grew significantly overnight. In the neighboring Kurgan region, the fires have already destroyed more than 300 residential houses and 3,900 other buildings, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing local emergency officials.
It is possible that many of Russia's firefighters were conscripted into a military action in a neighboring country . . . There may be only a few old men available to fight the fires. Oops.
