Santa Ana winds-driven wildfires have burned over 4,000 acres and impacted approximately 22,000 people in the coastal town of Malibu, California.
Recently, experts have suggested that Santa Ana winds and climate change are fueling wildfires in the Malibu coastal town of Malibu, California.
Definition–
Santa Ana winds are dry and warm (often hot) winds in the Southern California area that blow in from the desert, including the Great Basin of the western United States, incorporating Nevada and part of Utah.
Seasonal Occurrence– Santa Ana conditions can occur whenever the Great Basin is cooler than Southern California, usually between September and May. However, they are most notable in October, as Southern California’s climate during autumn increases the risk of wildfires.
Formation and effect:
Santa Ana winds occur when high-pressure forms over the Great Basin, located between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, while low pressure develops along California’s coast.
This pressure difference drives strong winds from the inland deserts of the Basin, east, and north of Southern California, over the mountains toward the Pacific Ocean.
As the winds move down the mountains, they compress and heat up, causing their humidity to drop, often below 20% and sometimes below 10%.
The resulting dry conditions turned vegetation into highly flammable material, which contributed to fueling the flames in Malibu.
National Action Plan on Forest Fires
National Action Plan on Forest Fires (NAPFF) was launched in 2018 to minimise forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivising them to work with the State Forest Departments.
Q1. Santa Ana winds are most likely to occur when which of the following conditions are satisfied?
- High-pressure systems over the Great Basin coincide with low-pressure systems along the California coast.
- The temperature gradient between the inland desert and the coast is minimal.
- Dry winds descending from the mountains experience compression heating, reducing their humidity.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3
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