Key Facts Of The Day 6/29

Hurricanes

• A study published yesterday in the journal Nature Communications found that at least 170 million people worldwide face both extreme flood risk and extreme poverty.
• Climate experts say festivals like Bonnaroo and similar outdoor live events are more vulnerable than ever to unpredictable and extreme weather.
  • Since its debut on a rural Tennessee farm two decades ago, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival strived to be one of the country’s greenest music festivals, investing in recycling, composting, solar energy, and other improvements.
  • Last August, Tennessee received the highest 24-hour rainfall ever recorded in a noncoastal state, making the Bonnaroo grounds waterlogged and roads impassable, forcing organizers to cancel.
  • After flooding last year, they expanded and paved some roads as well as started working on drainage.
  • This year the festival stayed dry but got extreme heat with several days of highs in the upper 90s leading up to the festival.
• Many Montana campgrounds are closed for the season due to flooding.
  • Overall flood damage to Forest Service campgrounds, trails, and recreation facilities in Montana is estimated at $20 million.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 50 large active wildfires that have burned 1,952,016 acres across AK, AZ, CA, GA, NV, NM, NC, OR, TX, and UT. As of Wednesday, 33,360 wildfires have burned 3,625,819 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 35 fires have burned 1,166,677 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Arizona, 5 fires have burned 62,838 acres as of Wednesday.
• In California, 2 fires have burned 827 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Georgia, 1 fire has burned 2,213 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 1,800 acres as of Wednesday.
• In New Mexico, 2 fires have burned 666,871 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Black Fire has burned 325,136 acres and is 70% contained as of Wednesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 93% contained as of Wednesday.
    • Thousands of residents were displaced by the blaze and hundreds of homes were destroyed.
    • Some residents say they have been left to wade through a bureaucratic maze as they look to be reimbursed for their losses.
  • On Monday, President Joe Biden authorized an increase in funding for debris removal and other emergency measures being taken as a result of a historic wildfire season in New Mexico
• In North Carolina, 1 fire has burned 1,938 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Oregon, 1 fire has burned 33,000 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Texas, 1 fire has burned 11,598 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Utah, 1 fire has burned 4,254 acres as of Wednesday.
• Sierra Pacific Industries owns more than 2.3 million acres of forests in California, Oregon and Washington will close access to the public starting this week due to extreme drought and the risk of wildfires.
  • The company normally allows the public access to its lands for recreational purposes in areas that are not actively being logged.
  • Sierra Pacific said it will regularly evaluate the situation but anticipates the closure will remain in effect until fall.
  • The company closed its California forestlands last year from late June until early October.

Extreme Heat

• A new report found that every year, heat causes at least 170,000 work-related injuries and as many as 2,000 fatalities. 
  • Between 2011 and 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics underestimated that heat was responsible for roughly 340 injuries and 40 deaths.
  • Workers of color and low-income workers, who often lack health coverage and do not qualify for workers’ compensation, face the highest risk of heat-related injury and death.
  • According to the report, the lowest-paid workers experience five times as many heat-related injuries as the highest-paid workers.
  • The report also suggests that at least 50,000 injuries and illnesses could be avoided nationwide if OSHA adopted a simple heat standard.
• West Texas farmers and ranchers fear the worst as drought and heat near 2011 records.
  • Last month tied for the warmest May on record in the state.
  • In 2011, the total cost of crop and livestock losses was estimated at $7.62 billion.
  • A local farmer says that all of his irrigated crops are stressed from the heat that has reached triple digits over the past few days.
  • Midland had its driest period on record from September 2021 to May 31, when it received only 8% of its normal rainfall.
  • Lubbock also had six days reach 100 degrees or higher from March through May — tying for the third-highest number of 100-degree days in those months in Lubbock’s records.
  • When dry conditions combine with heat, it creates a feedback cycle that can evaporate precipitation before it can reach the soil, causing a critical impact on agriculture.

New Reports And Data

• A June 2022 study found that at least 170 million people worldwide face both extreme flood risk and extreme poverty.
• A June 2022 report found that every year, heat causes at least 170,000 work-related injuries and as many as 2,000 fatalities.
• A June 2022 study found that heat waves are expected to increase, affecting up to half a billion people in South Asia every year.