Climate & Environment
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Residents in the Westside, Los Angeles neighborhood of the Pacific Palisades, are threatened by a raging wildfire, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency, and officials are looking to tame the blaze. The Pacific Palisades and other neighborhoods in California are under evacuation orders while the images from the wildfire have sparked both concern and debate online.
All across social media, the California wildfire has been discussed widely with users posting stirring photos and videos of the blaze. According to various reports from the likes of CBS News and the Los Angeles Times along with local outlets.
The fire began in Northwest Los Angeles on Tuesday (Jan. 7) morning and led to the evacuation of around 30,000 residents of the Pacific Palisades, which is nestled in the Westside region of Los Angeles County. High winds throughout the day spread the brush fire and CalFire reports that the blaze grew to a size of nearly 3,000 acres. Damages from the blaze are still being tallied along with the number of injuries, with widespread reports of heavy traffic and the like as residents look to flee to safety.
A second blaze broke on in Eaton in the Northern Los Angeles County neighborhood of Altadena and has reportedly torched over 1,000 homes according to CalFire officials. There was also a blaze titled the Hurst Fire that broke out in Los Angeles’ Sylmar neighborhood on Tuesday and touched several hundred acres.
Winds reached as high as 99 mph in the Altadena region and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport according to the National Weather Service. Santa Ana winds are typical in California but not usually this intense according to officials covering the weather event.
On X, formerly Twitter, residents enduring the wildfires are sharing their accounts of what they’re facing and giving detailed photos and video footage of the spreading damage. Those replies can be viewed below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: FADEL SENNA / Getty
The intense heat that has struck Saudi Arabia during the holy pilgrimage period for Muslims has reportedly claimed over 1,000 lives.
On Thursday (June 20), reports from various sources declared that 1,081 people have died during the hajj, or annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The high heat – which topped out at 51.8 degrees Celsius or 125 degrees Fahrenheit at the Grand Mosque in Mecca – experienced in the Middle Eastern nation was cited as the primary reason for the deaths, with the total coming from reports compiled by various countries that the pilgrims had come from within the past few days.
According to reports, 1.8 million made the pilgrimage this year, with 1.6 million people visiting from foreign countries. The disclosure comes days after Saudi officials declared that this year’s season was a “success.” Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel expressed “particular satisfaction with the fact that there were no outbreaks or other public health threats despite the significant number of pilgrims and the challenges posed by high temperatures.”
Jordan’s official news agency stated on Wednesday (June 19), that there were burial permits issued for 41 pilgrims from the country. Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry said the day before that at least 35 citizens of that country had perished. Egyptians accounted for the largest number of casualties from the group with 658 reported deceased, according to one diplomatic source. It is believed 630 of them were unregistered with the Saudi authorities, which prevented them from accessing the numerous air-conditioned spaces in the city of Mecca and along the pilgrimage route to cool down.
They have set up an “operations room” to address calls from distressed relatives and have personnel in Mecca to assist with bringing the dead back to Egypt. India, Russia, Pakistan and Senegal have also reported some of their citizens dying on this season’s hajj. The hajj is a requirement of every Muslim if they are able, although in recent years the rising heat has posed difficulties for older pilgrims with health issues like high blood pressure. Climate change has been a concern as the lunar calendar that Islam follows has placed the time for the pilgrimage during the hottest times of the year. Saudi Arabia has worked to provide advanced cooling systems in light of that for all undertaking the hajj.
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As the first day of summer appears, so does a massive heat wave that has overtaken much of the eastern half of the United States. Over the weekend, several temperature records are under threat of being shattered as health officials sternly warn of the many health risks associated with the high heat.
Accuweather reports that the current line of the heat wave stretches from far west as Tennesee upwards to the state of Maine. The website adds that around 135 million residents will be under the threat of records hovering well past 90 degrees with Washington, D.C. potentially reaching 101 this coming Sunday. If that happens, it will break a record set in the 1980s and will be the first time the city has reached the 100-degree mark since 2016.
“As high pressure continues to build in the East, the Ohio Valley and Northeast will see daily temperature records challenged on Thursday. High temperatures will be between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit and pose a risk for heat-related illnesses across the region,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex Duffus shared in a report.
One of the many inherent risks of high heat include poor air quality, risk of stroke, dehydration, and more. Health officials from several states are warning their residents to stay indoors during the height of the day if possible and to keep themselves hydrated and cool as possible. The heat wave will also put a strain on electrical grids across the affected regions as the high temperatures persist.
At particular risk are the elderly, those who suffer from respiratory issues, and young children. Several cities, including Washington, have opened cooling centers and pools to offer a reprieve.
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Photo: Getty
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