Huge fires broke out in late December in Colorado, USA.
The scientists were very surprised by the timing, the rapid spread and the foci of the fire.
The fire spread to populated areas in the area in the forests and mountains, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from their homes, with hundreds of homes burned.
After the severe fires, snow came and covered the burnt ruins - which only underscored the extreme of the weather.
"I thought it would not be long before we started experiencing fires like California, with the flames leading to the evacuation of people from their homes and neighborhoods, but I did not expect that to happen in December," Becky Bollinger of research team at the Colorado Climate Center told the Denver Post.
The "Marshall" fire spread over 6,000 dunams within hours due to the strong winds, and is exceptional in its intensity and the severe manner in which it damaged much property.
The soil and grass in the area began to dry up in the summer against a backdrop of decades of drought.
According to Jennifer Balch, a scientist and director of the Earth Laboratory, the period between June and December was the hottest on record and the driest in the Denver area since the early 1960s - making firefighting conditions more reasonable, even in less typical times.
The burning of the giant marshal in Colorado,
The climate crisis and the changes that followed have actually led to a situation where woodland fires can break out all year round, and not just in the summer months due to the dryness and heat relative to the past.
"Climate change is definitely part of this story - there is no more response to fires, fires can now continue all year round," Balch stressed.
Bollinger added that the drier the ignition, the easier the fire will spread.
The aforementioned climate crisis is only expected to worsen drought and heat conditions around the world, and it seems that such fires will only spread to other areas.
Last summer was saturated with fire incidents in various places like California, Greece and Turkey - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
A report published by the Meteorological Service in Israel today showed that 2021 is the fourth warmest year since measurements began in Israel. Lack of rain, prolonged and unusual heat wave in August, fire in the Jerusalem mountains and recently the "Carmel" system That we experienced.
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