fire

According to The Guardian, 2011 “rewrote the record books” with the highest ever recorded global greenhouse gas levels (394 parts per million at Mauna Loa in May), world population reaching 7 billion, and record investments in renewable energy ($211 billion since 2004), to name a few of the

More carbon is released from forest fire reduction practices than previously thought, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

West of the Rockies, temperatures were slightly below to well below normal this month, but regions of the Southwest east of Rockies saw temperatures near to slightly above average, according to the newest State of the Climate from NOAA.

Posted by Melissa Lamberton | on December 08, 2011
When thousands of acres burned across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas last summer, firefighters and forest managers faced a more formidable foe than just smoke and flames. Research suggests that Southwestern wildfires are becoming bigger and fiercer in response to the two-headed hydra of higher temperatures and abundant fuel. In both cases, humans have a hand in creating ecosystems ready to go up in flames, but making management decisions to reverse the trend may not be so easy.

The October State of the Climate report from NOAA shows U.S. temperatures were 0.9˚F above average, with eighteen states (including the Southwest) experiencing above-normal temperatures.

According to the newest Southwest Climate Outlook from CLIMAS, October temperatures were cooler than average in northern Arizona and New Mexico, while southeastern New Mexico and southern Arizona experienced above-average temperatures.

Posted by Zack Guido | on October 31, 2011
The 2011 Water Year in Review is a summary of the information presented in the Southwest Climate Outlook between October 1, 2010, and September 30, 2011. The water year is a standard period of measurement used in hydrology because the natural seasonal ground recharge and discharge cycles are more aligned with the October-September period than the calendar year due to precipitation and evaporation. This review highlights precipitation, temperature, reservoir levels, drought, wildfire, and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions.

The new Winter Outlook from NOAA predicts La Niña to gradually strengthen and continue through the winter, resulting in warmer and drier conditions for the Southwest.