Global Warming; Notes from the Field

Headline: “British Columbia battles 300 wildfires at once.” I used to think of Washington and Oregon as being cool and wet in the summer compared to most of the country. I knew that a current of arctic origin flows south along the Pacific Coast, causing ocean water in the vicinity of San Francisco to be considerably colder than off beaches at comparable latitudes on the east coast. I assumed that British Columbia, which lies north of Washington State, would be even more reliably cool and wet. This summer will be remembered for floods and fires, and so may most of the next ones.