BentleyAug 2, 2024

đŸ§µ#TeachableMoments: #Jasper & All That Smoke

Life comes at you pretty fast these days but when Alberta has a week like last week it's clear that if we don't stop & take stock it'll pass with the typical partisan food fights & nothing learned. That's not good enough /1 #yyc #abpoli

Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
Anybody saying "this is just summer" about all that #smoke & #wildfire is either misinforming or disinforming you, difference being the degree to which they KNOW what they're saying is UNTRUE. Neither is useful in deterring future #Jasper-like disasters or worse /2 #Climate #ExtremeHeat
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
The week that saw the utter destruction of ~ 1/3 of the town of #Jasper & over 1.3 million Calgarians breathing #VeryHighRisk #AirQuality started with Sunday July 21, 2024 being the hottest day in recorded history. The record didn't last a single day. /3

#HeatWave #ExtremeHeat #Climate
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024

We keep breaking all the wrong kinds of records. This week was shocking to live through it but nobody that values science, data & facts should be surprised. Scientists warned us for a long time. It's here now. It's no longer academic & should never've been "political." /4

#Climate #Jasper #Wildfire https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/climate-warming-copernicus-record-united-nations-1.7224438

Earth hit with 12 straight months of record-breaking temperatures | CBC News

The planet’s string of record-breaking temperatures has continued for a full year, with May marking the 12th consecutive month for which its average temperature set a new record for the month. The grim milestone prompted a call for urgent action from the United Nations.

CBC
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
The math here is elementary: human-caused #ClimateChange dramatically heats the planet. A hotter planet means longer #DrySeasons creating more kindling or FUEL from our forests, resulting in larger, more destructive #Wildfire & a WHOLE LOT MORE SMOKE /5 #Climate #Jasper https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/climate/earth-hottest-years.html
Earth’s Last 8 Years Were the Hottest on Record

Europe experienced its hottest summer ever, while 2022 was the fifth-hottest year on record worldwide.

The New York Times
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
Anybody can claim all the #Wildfires we now experience are just "what happens in summer" so long as they're either oblivious to the available data or outright denying it. On average, 2.5 million hectares burn in Canada each year. Last year we hit 18.4 /6 https://globalnews.ca/news/10141857/canada-wildfires-side-effects/
Wildfires burned 18.5M hectares of land in 2023. What will happen come thaw?

Wildfires leave a mark, and after a season that saw 18.5 million hectares of land burned, some experts are warning about the effects they can have in future extreme weather events.

Global News
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
Anybody can claim ALL THAT SMOKE 1.3 million Calgarians now experience is just "what happens in summer" so long as they're either oblivious to the available data or outright denying it. In the 80s & 90s #YYC used to average just 12 hrs of #smoke a year. Last year we hit ~ 500 /7
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
It's not just that we're breathing WAY MORE SMOKE these days, we're also breathing WAY MORE TOXIC SMOKE, which we know because we monitor #AirQuality & where we've always rated it from 1-10 our last few years have forced us to create a right-off-the-charts rating called "10+" /8
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
It's that 10+ #VeryHighRisk air that kept many Calgarians (including this one) locked into their 30+ degree apartments shut off entirely from any fresh, cool night air. It's awful. And then you find out we might lose #Jasper. /9 #AQHI #HeatWave https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-air-quality-high-risk-wildfire-smoke-1.7275491
Calgary's air quality deemed 'high risk' as wildfire smoke hangs over the city | CBC News

With Calgary and many surrounding areas blanketed in a haze of thick wildfire smoke, doctors are warning people to take precautions.

CBC
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
Same folks that first denied
#ClimateChange was real then last year told you increased #Wildfire was due to an evil #MassArson cabal now gaslight that we're actually not experiencing an increase at all, that what just happened to #Jasper is #JustSummer. Reckless. And wrong. /10 https://thenarwhal.ca/wildfire-canada-explainer/
How Canada’s wildfires start: climate misinformation explained | The Narwhal

How are wildfire conspiracies like arson and space lasers spreading? How bad are Canada’s wildfires? An explainer

The Narwhal
Show threadBentleyAug 2, 2024
#Jasper happened in 2024, one year after the worst #wildfire season (in hectares burnt up, so far) in Canada's recorded history. In Alberta last year we broke our own wildfire record BEFORE AUGUST at which point both #Yellowknife & #Kelowna needed evacuations IN THE SAME WEEK /11
Show threadDoreen32128 ready to rumble!
@Bentley #jasper really got hit hard with the fires. Tragic.
Aug 4, 2024 at 11:58pmWeb