The Texas panhandle is currently under a declaration of disaster due to rampant, devastating wildfires. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that he issued this declaration in order “to deploy resources to 60 counties impacted by these devastating wildfires,” in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. Dry conditions and above-average temperatures are only fueling the wildfires and Tuesday’s high winds were increasing the spread. Natural disasters are only becoming more severe as climate change worsens.
The Texas A&M Forest Service shared on X that the Smokehouse Creek Fire is an estimated 500,000 acres and 0% contained as of 8:30 a.m. AP reports that this is the second-largest blaze in the state’s history. The Pantex nuclear plant, a site for building and dismantling atomic bombs, was evacuated yesterday; we are extremely lucky that the fires did not strike the plant. While Pantex resumed normal operations this morning, this very possibly could have ended in a nuclear disaster. While Texans lose their homes, land, and lives, greenhouse gases continue to permeate the Earth’s atmosphere.
Copernicus shared reports showing that January was the Earth’s warmest month on record and February is continuing the trend of record-breaking globally high temperatures. While wildfires are natural disasters that frequently occur, these high temperatures do nothing to quell the damage and spread of fire. The oceans are also exceptionally warm, and polar regions are heating nearly four times as fast as the rest of the globe.
According to NASA, “Changes in climate not only affect average temperatures, but also extreme temperatures, increasing the likelihood of weather-related natural disasters.” NASA’s models show that we are in danger of seeing far more severe weather events and increased natural disasters as climate change continues to impact our planet.
We only have one planet — Earth. While the wildfires in the Texas panhandle and parks of Oklahoma could not have been avoided, they certainly could have not been as devastating if the temperatures were on-season for February instead of being at a record high. We do not have a choice; we must fight to decrease the rate at which the climate changes. The consequences of climate change are drastic and grievous. We cannot sit idly by and allow our planet to be destroyed. Now is the time for action.
