Yesterday I focused on Woodstock , that generation-defining rock concert held 57 years ago. I opened with those wildfires in Southern California. I should have also added another, more serious one, in Indonesia. From Google AI: Indonesia is currently battling its worst season of toxic forest and peatland wildfires in over a decade , which have scorched nearly two million hectares of land and triggered severe health crises across Southeast Asia. Artificial intelligence is playing a major dual role in this crisis, serving as both a powerful tool for emergency detection and a vehicle for misinformation on social media . [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ] The Scale of the Havoc Unprecedented Destruction: Spurred by a severe, climate-change-fueled El Niño dry season , fires concentrated heavily in Borneo (Kalimantan) and Sumatra have generated massive plumes of dense smoke. Independent monitors like the Nusantara Atlas estimate the burned area at over 1.9 million hecta...
Before my topic of today, a bit about those Southern California wildfires. These fires are usually caused by Santa Ana winds that can come from October through March. Of course, you also need certain environmental conditions, like drought and global warming, plus some ignition source. Power grids are especially of concern. And lightning. Human causes, like campfire accidents and arson. In fact, here is what Google AI says: Santa Ana wildfires are not typically caused by a single natural weather trigger; rather, Santa Ana winds act as the dangerous weather accelerant that spreads fires, while nearly all the actual ignitions (90% to 95%) are human-caused . [ 1 , 2 ]. I had a posting last year about them . Apparently, those fires now in Southern California have peaked. Of course other areas in California will remain vulnerable. Certainly, this is not only a California problem, for the Global Fire Dashboard today shows 6926 hotspots around the world. Glo...