The US Naval Research Laboratory hosted a very 2021 press conference last week. Scientists reported that a series of pyrocumulonimbus plumes erupted over Canada and the western United States. This phenomenon is known scientifically as pyroCb.They can be compared to giant chimneys that funnel smoke from the fire into thunderstorms, according to David Peterson, a meteorologist with the research laboratory. This is a very dirty thunderstorm with lots of smoke particles that water can condense on.The resulting water droplets don't tend to grow large enough to become rain, unlike a typical thunderstorm. Peterson said that lightning can be produced by this cloud. These clouds can then spread across the landscape, igniting new wildfires. The blaze can spread itself by throwing embers in front of the main fire line. (Californias wildfires can be so deadly because of strong seasonal winds, which push them at amazing speeds), but it can also produce hot, rising smoke, which can in essence recruit the atmosphere to light additional fires. It is a self-proliferating, runaway machine.They will also help to ignite the wildfires that they spawned. The hot air rising from the fire ignites the air near the ground, which fills the void with air, which supercharges wind speeds at the surface. A pyroCb, which is a thundercloud produces an updraft as well, creating very irregular wind behavior close to the surface. If you expect a pyroCb-spawning wildfire that behaves rationally, marching across landscape with the prevailing wind, then there is another thing.The WIRED Guide to Climate Change. The weather is getting worse, and the world is warming. This guide will tell you everything you need about how humans can stop destroying the planet.These pyroCbs are often huge. The more air that rises from a wildfire, the hotter it burns. Peterson said that these smokes are being pushed upward at extremely high speeds, so they are injecting smoke at altitudes higher than the cruising altitude for jet aircraft. This means that the smoke could be emitted at 50 to 60,000 feet. Peterson said that a 2017 pyroCb from British Columbia produced a plume that remained in the stratosphere for ten months.After all the smoke aerosols have reached the stratosphere they can create a paradoxical effect. They can block the sun's energy, cooling the surrounding landscape. The plumes can block out the sun, so they will cool the landscape below. This is a new discovery but it is very real. We've seen this in several cases.1 / 3 Chevron Chevron Courtesy of College of DuPage Satellite image taken July 16 following an outbreak of Pyrocbs.Peterson and Fromm spotted one of the most massive pyroCb plumes in North America at the end of June. These clouds could not have been created by a bug, but are a sign of a bizarro climate. Peterson stated that there has been a surge in pyroCb activity across North America in the past few days. This pyroCb epidemic is the latest in a long line of pyroCb-related outbreaks we have seen in recent years.For example, 38 plumes were produced by the terrible bushfire season in Australia in 201920 within a matter of days. Siberia is one of the most prolific places to have spawned them. Its landscape heats up, dries out and then ignites. According to UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, there have been a lot of them over the past few fire seasons. There are probably several reasons why this is happening.
