Ring of fire: More than 125 Woodland blazes Burn As Drought Slams New York City

By Douglas McIntyre  •  November 5, 2024
Eva Bronzini/Pexels.com

New York City and surrounding areas have not had rain for five weeks, conditions that have led to wildfires less than an hour away. 

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There are 126 brush fires in Connecticut, with climate experts saying the area is so dry that the fire risk could last long enough to be in place in 2025. In addition, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows elevated levels of drought east across Long Island, west toward Pennsylvania and south into New Jersey.  New York City is surrounded by tinder-dry conditions.

Although there may not be any wildfires or brush fires inside the New York City borders, the fires could come close. Will it burn in the Bronx, the city borough to the north? Probably not. There has been a fire risk around Los Angeles for decades but only a small part of the city has been burned. But “a small part” is not much comfort. What’s more certain, though, is that if the drought continues for another two weeks, water use may have to be limited.

The long-range forecast for New York a decade from now is that it will be much wetter than today. Toward 2050, it is supposed to get even wetter. But climate change forecasts are not linear: At the start of this year, the 1,200-year drought in California turned into heavy rain and mudslides.

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