Upon waking up in the morning, the first thing most of us do is open the weather app, reservedly hopeful. It feels as if winter should be over as we enter March, but as the weather for the day appears on our screens or televisions, we are greeted with a little cloud icon. Again.
Despite lengthening daylight hours and sporadic days of sunshine, Long Island enters March under cold and cloudy conditions. The low temperatures keep many inside clutching a hot beverage. In the summer, there would still be plenty of daylight hours to still take advantage of: a comparison that we can’t help but indulge in.
There are some days where our only outdoor time involves walking from the car to the front door; this lack of exposure to the sun as well the inability to pursue hobbies such as hiking, playing sports, swimming or gardening can cause seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
SAD is characterized by oversleeping, overeating and social withdrawal in addition to decreased energy, loss of pleasure in hobbies and difficulty concentrating or making decisions, to name a few.
While many don’t experience the impacts of the season drastically enough to have a SAD diagnosis, the lack of time outdoors and under the sun undoubtedly has an effect on our behavior and outlook.
On a chemical level, researchers theorize that vitamin D, which we produce when we are exposed to sun, plays a role in the production of serotonin, otherwise known as the “happy chemical.” According to the National Institute of Mental Heath, the lower levels of vitamin D are common in people who suffer from SAD.
Furthermore, fewer daylight hours can cause the body to begin producing melatonin earlier, leading to oversleeping.
The uncomfortable weather understandably keeps us indoors, away from our hobbies, leaving us feeling unfulfilled. The days seem to pass faster without activities to break up the monotony of being indoors.
Luckily, we can take vitamin D supplements to compensate for our lack of sunlight exposure. While this can abate the chemical impacts, it is important to pay attention to how the season changes our lifestyle choices and to try to mitigate that or supplement it with something else.
Perhaps, instead of gardening outside, we decide to devote ourselves to a collection of houseplants. We can invest in some hand-warmers and warm weather clothingto continue hiking and walking without becoming uncomfortably cold. Or, we can take up a new engaging hobby like painting, knitting, or rock-climbing. Moving our body in some capacity is also important to make sure we stay in shape and boost our endorphins, which can decrease symptoms of depression, stabilize our mood, and help us manage stress.
As we enter the home-stretch of cold-weather, we should check in with our personal and physical needs.
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
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The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch has been restored after Aug. 19 storm. Photo by Robert Lusak
By Sabrina Artusa
After the Aug. 19 storm, the lower level of the Smithtown Library’s main branch at 1 North Country Road had to be cleaned and gutted. The stairwell has been repainted and all electriclal equipment has been removed. Now, the floor is a blank slate. Smithtown Library Director Robert Lusak views this as an opportunity to re-situate the floor to make it a better, nicer area.
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Miller Place Duck Pond
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Ice skaters enjoy the Miller Place Duck Pond. Photo by Bill Landon
Millers Pond County Park
Ice skating on Millers Pond in Smithtown. Photo by Sabrina Artusa
Ice skating on Millers Pond in Smithtown. Photo by Sabrina Artusa
Enjoying Miller Pond in Smithtown. Photo by Sabrina Artusa
By Bill Landon
As temperatures fell and with a respite from the unrelenting wind, skaters of all ages, including tomorrow’s hockey stars, flocked to Miller Place Duck Pond and Millers Pond in Smithtown. In Smithtown, hockey players weren’t the only ones enjoying the perks of the cold weather; a furry friend wandered onto the ice, prompting skaters to take a short intermission.
According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm watch will go into effect Saturday, Feb. 8 at approximately 7 p.m. through Sunday, Feb. 9 ending at 11 a.m.
A heavy mixed precipitation is possible. Total snow and sleet accumulations are expected to be between three and five inches and a light glaze of ice accumulations is possible. Travel conditions may become difficult during the storm, especially as temperatures fluctuate causing slick roads. If possible motorists should avoid driving during the storm. If travel is absolutely necessary, drive with extreme caution, warns Town of Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrhreim.
The Town Smithtown Highway Department Fleet will begin working Friday evening on prep, applying a beet juice brine to the roads and sidewalks to prevent dangerous black ice conditions. Snow removal crews will continue to work through the duration of the storm.
Park Vehicles in the Driveway: Residents are encouraged to keep vehicles off the curbside as plows clear the residential areas in an expeditious manner. Smithtown’s highway fleet began work overnight applying a beet juice brine to the roads and sidewalks to prevent icing.
Parks & Beaches Will Be Closed During the Storm: In an effort to keep residents safe and allow for Parks, Buildings & Grounds to remove snow from parking lots efficiently, gates and other access to the parks and beaches will be closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Stay Informed: Residents can stay informed about the storm and get up to the minute updates via the Town of Smithtown Mobile App, which is free to download on Google Play and the App Store.
The Town of Smithtown has compiled a list of tips, resources and information regarding the storm, the cleanup process, reporting power outages and the proper contact information for those in need of further assistance.
PUBLIC SAFETY:
The Department of Public Safety has activated the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and is coordinating efforts with Suffolk County and PSEG in the event of power outages. Public Safety is urging residents to stay off of the roads, which lessens the potential for accidents. Use extreme caution and if you must travel, please do so with a winter survival kit. In the event, you become stranded, stay with your vehicle and call authorities. All non life-threatening calls can be directed to the department of public safety by calling (631) 360-7553.
Elderly Neighbors & Special Needs individuals: Please check on your neighbors with disabilities, special needs or senior citizens. Make sure they have an emergency phone, plenty of water, food and blankets. Ask if they have someone to call in the event of an emergency. If further intervention is required please contact the Office for People with Disabilities at (631) 360-7642.
Animals & Family Pets: All domestic animals should remain indoors in below freezing temperatures, with the exception of allowing dogs to venture out briefly to go to the bathroom. Make sure to check the yard for broken fences or open gates and if possible keep an eye on your pets while outdoors to avoid escape, and injuries.
Please Note: It is against the law to leave pets outside in freezing conditions such as these! If you witness cruel conditions, please report it. Farm animals should be sheltered indoors for the duration of this storm. To report animals in distress, strays or other loose domestic or wild animals please call the Smithtown Animal Shelter (631) 360-7575.
Post Storm Safety: When plowing driveways please be cognizant not to block fire hydrants with snow mounds. Public Safety Fire Marshals ask that residents using generators be cognizant to place the exhaust facing outwards and at least 20’ away from a building. This can protect loved ones from CO poisoning and can prevent fires caused by generators incorrectly positioned.
Power Outages – PSEG Information: View PSEG Long Island’s outage map Click Here
To report and receive status updates on an outage Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454) or to report an outage online visit www.psegliny.com
To register, have your account number available and text REG to PSEGLI (773454)
Downed wires should always be considered “live.” Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything contacting the wire. To report a downed wire, call PSEG Long Island’s 24-hour Electric Service number: 1-800-490-0075.
Road Preparations and Snow Cleanup:
Superintendent of Highways, Robert Murphy reports that the full fleet has been deployed for the duration of the storm. As a reminder, please remove any waste bins, brush or leaf bags from the curbside and park vehicles in driveways so the roads can be plowed efficiently during and after snow accumulation. This also prevents damage to curb cuts, mailboxes and driveways.
To report icing, and other issues related to conditions along the roads, please contact the highway department at (631) 360-7500.
USEFUL NUMBERS:
Stranded Vehicles: If there is an emergency, please dial 9-11 immediately. All non life-threatening calls can be directed to the Department of Public Safety by calling 631-360-7553
Local Fire & Police Phone Numbers: In an emergency dial 9-1-1
Suffolk County Police Department: For non-emergencies, contact 631-852-COPS (2677). Dial 9-1-1 ONLY for life-threatening emergencies.
Smithtown Fire Rescue Communications: 631-265-1500 for fire and EMS emergencies in the Smithtown, Kings Park, and Hauppauge Fire Districts.
Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services: Dial 911 for fire and EMS emergencies in the St. James, Nesconset, and Nissequogue Fire Districts.
Commack Fire Department: 631-499-5777 for fire emergencies in the Commack Fire District.
Report Power Outages to PSEG: Text OUT to PSEGLI (773454), report it online at MyAccount.psegliny.com, through the PSEG app, or call1-800-490-0075
Report Gas Outages or Emergencies: If you smell gas anywhere, including in your home, go outside and call National Grid 24 hour hotline at 1-800-490-0045 or dial 911 immediately.
LIRR Commuter Travel Information: For information regarding delays or travel questions, contact the LIRR 24 hour travel information center at 718-217-5477
Suffolk 311: Suffolk County 311 is a central call center available to residents who do not know which number to call for any non-emergency. Residents can reach the 311 line Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or leave messages after hours.
Elderly Neighbors & Special Needs individuals: For assistance with elderly or special needs individuals, contact the Office for People with Disabilities at (631) 360-7642
Animals & Family Pets: To report animals in distress, strays or other loose/lost domestic or wild animals please call (631) 360-7575. To Report Animal Abuse, or Neglect contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722 or Suffolk County Police at (631) 854-8200.
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
A scene from the 6th annual Port Jefferson Ice Festival. Photo by Julianne Mosher
By Julianne Mosher
For its sixth consecutive year, the Port Jefferson Ice Festival brought in thousands of guests to the village after stormy weather caused a rain date activation.
Originally scheduled for Jan. 18 and 19, the festival was postponed to Saturday, Jan. 25 and Sunday, Jan. 26 where weather was sunny, but chilly — a perfect combination for the more than two dozen ice sculptures to thrive.
For more than half a decade, the annual Port Jefferson Ince Festival, hosted by the Port Jefferson Business Improvement District, has brought in Rich Daly, owner of Ice Memories Inc. in Mastic Beach.
Daly, who is an award-winning ice sculptor with over 200 competition titles, including a Guinness World Record for carrying 60 sculptures in under three hours, took to the tennis courts to show several live carvings including Olaf the snowman from “Frozen” where people of all ages watched the master carver in awe.
Throughout the village, pre-made ice sculptures from Daly’s shop decorated the sidewalks outside of local businesses. In addition to the sculptures, visitors enjoyed live ice carving demonstrations, ice corn hole, marshmallow roasting, hot chocolate stands, ice mini golf, skating demos, tractor rides, karaoke, interactive games and live dance and music performances.
Some of the hats knitted by Sue Harrison for children and adults. Photo courtesy of Leg. Trotta's office
For several years, Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta has been working with Smithtown based SMM Advertising and the Retired Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVP) to conduct a winter coat drive to benefit the residents of Suffolk County who need warm winter clothing.
Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta with some of the coats residents dropped off at his office in Smithtown. Photo courtesy of Leg. Trotta’s office
“The response was phenomenal. We received numerous donations from so many residents,” said Legislator Trotta. “In addition, for the third year in a row, Sue Harrison knitted hats for the children and adults,” added Trotta.
“Every donated coat and warm garment represent a message of hope and care from one human being to another. Thank you to RSVP and Legislator Rob Trotta for all your support and enthusiasm each year to make our Coat Drive a success,” said Tricia Folliero, Vice President, SMM Advertising.
The donated winter wear was distributed to the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry, St, Vincent de Paul’s Food Pantry at St. Jospeh’s Church in Kings Park, St. Gerard of Majella Outreach, Infant Jesus Outreach, Church of the Resurrection Outreach, Echo Arms Adult Home, Lighthouse Mission and Pax Christi Men’s Shelter.
“The Friends of the Retired and Senior Volunteer program is overwhelmed by the response of our RSVP volunteers and our community members to take this opportunity to care for our community. The number of blankets and coats that they provided was incredible and so often the donation came with a willingness to continue to help. We are grateful to be working with Leg. Trotta and SMM Advertising.,” said Maryflorence Brennan, Executive Director of RSVP.
A scene of destruction in Western North Carolina after Tropical Storm Helene. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/NCDOTcommunications
By Kurt Johnsen
On August 19, 2024, a “thousand-year” rain event breached Harbor Road and drained the Stony Brook Mill Pond.TBR News Media published my memoir of my personal relationship with the pond and my deep sorrow of its loss on Aug. 29.
I live in Asheville, North Carolina and on September 28, I awoke to a Natural Disaster that was beyond my comprehension. Tropical storm Helene had scourged our beloved Western North Carolina.I’ll first note that my wife and I were fine, and our home only suffered minor damage. I stepped outside and began to witness what was soon to be apparent destruction of “biblical” proportion.
Overnight, 40 to 100 miles-per-hour winds had ravaged our region. Asheville received 14 inches of rain, much of Western North Carolina received two feet of rain and even up to 30 inches, all in the previous two days. Trees were downed everywhere and with them thousands of power lines cutting off electricity and making even simple travel down the road impossible. Soon, the magnitude of the destruction started to become evident.
Close to 900,000 acres of forest were downed or damaged, thousands of homes were destroyed and 150,000 people were displaced. If you haven’t yet, you can go on YouTube and watch the hundreds of videos showing events that, before this, we only witnessed from afar often in third world countries. Two miles from our houseBiltmore Village was flooded and EVERY business was gutted or ripped down. Eighty percent of our beloved River Arts District was destroyed. The torrents caused massive mudslides. Across the region, houses were torn apart and floatedlike balsa wood along powerful rivers that, two days prior, were small streams and brooks.
There are 104 verified storm-related deaths. It is Incredulous this number isn’t higher. Vehicles, homes, businesses were piled like matchsticks. People’s lives were upended and, for many, will never be the same. Even now, as you drive out to smaller towns that were virtually destroyed,you proceed through a “tunnel” of the hulks of demolished cars, trucks, houses and other flotsam.
The main Pipeline from the reservoir that supplies most of Asheville with water was shattered and under 28 feet of thick muck! Water immediately ceased flowing out of the tap for, in most cases, months and even longer to become potable. Asheville’s unemployment rate jumped from three to 9 percent overnight. The lack of affordable housing, already a crisis for service industry employees in our tourist-based economy, was extraordinarily exacerbated overnight.
Stop reading for a minute and imagine the all-too-real picture I have painted above. Now, let me put this in perspective. The Mill Pond is approximately 11 acres in size. That is 0.001 percent of the area that was impacted in WNC from Helene. And now, much of Los Angeles looks like Dresden after the firebombing. I will not go far out on a limb to say we have reached the “tipping point”; climate change is now ravaging our planet. James Taylor sang “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.” He had no idea how prophetic his prose would become.
Author Kurt Johnsen, who grew up in idyllic Stony Brook,now resides inAsheville, North Carolina.
An outside look at the Town of Huntington Senior Center. Photo from Facebook
In anticipation of the arctic temperatures that are forecasted to cover Long Island and the northeast next week, Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth and the Huntington Town Board will be opening a warming center beginning Tuesday, January 21 to Friday, January 24. Depending on the forecast, the center hours may be extended beyond those dates. The warming center location is:
John J. Flanagan Huntington Senior Center
423 Park Ave, Huntington
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Many libraries within the Town are also opening their facilities as warming centers during this weather emergency. Each library should be contacted directly for operating hours. The following is the list of participating libraries and contact information:
It is important to note that Town and library facilities do not offer medical, support, or social services. These warming centers are open to provide those in need the opportunity to get adequate shelter from the cold, use restroom facilities and charge cell phones.
All other services can be obtained by contacting any one of the following agencies or organizations:
Emergency Services – Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS) Emergency Services Unit at 631-854-9100. This number is available after 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday, and on weekends and holidays.
Heating Assistance/HEAP – For those who are out of fuel to heat their homes or need an emergency burner repair, the Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as “HEAP,” can be reached 8 am to 4:30 pm by calling 631-853-8820.
Project Warmth – Heat assistance is also available through Project Warmth. Those in need can dial 211 or call the United Way at 888-774-7633.
Temporary Housing Assistance – Those in need of housing can contact the DSS Temporary Housing Assistance Unit by contacting 631-854-9547 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Additional information can be obtained by calling Suffolk County’s non-emergency number at 311.
The past two years in Suffolk County had the warmest average mean temperature and the warmest average low temperature of any two consecutive years on record.
According to data recorded by the Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC), January 2023 to January 2025 were the hottest 730 days of the past 42 years.
The data, recorded at a station in Islip, reported the area’s average mean temperature as 55.1 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the third warmest year following 2023 and 2012, which both experienced an average mean temperature of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
The average low temperature was 47.1 degrees Fahrenheit, tying with 2012 as the warmest average low temperature, followed by 2023 with an average low temp of 47.0, only .1 degrees cooler.
The years 2023 and 2024 rank high in most of the temperature charts, although 2024 was not among the top five highest average temperatures.
Long Island’s higher than normal temperatures are not unique; according to data obtained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the average temperature of the continental U.S. was the warmest to date.
Compared to the baseline–the temperature from 1900 to 2000– the average temp of the U.S. in 2024 was almost 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer. The base is 52.01 degrees Fahrenheit while 2024 experienced an average of 54.94.
Dr. Elizabeth Watson, an associate professor at Stony Brook University’s Department of Ecology and Evolution, specializes in climate change and its effects on coastal environments.
According to Watson, global warming is generally felt more intensely in the winter months. As greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane continue to trap heat within our atmosphere, the Earth isn’t releasing heat as rapidly as it has in the past.
The warming Earth doesn’t reach freezing temperatures as often, resulting in less snow to reflect the solar energy away from the Earth’s surface.
“Snow affects the seasonal energy balance, so if you have more snow it reflects the light,” Watson said.
This positive feedback loop has exacerbated warming and explains why there is such a noticeable change of temperature in winter months.
The temperature increase is an indication of a change that is impacting Long Island weather and ecology. Extreme weather events like storm surges impose a threat not only to the coastal environment, but also infrastructure.
In December 2023 and January 2024, Long Island experienced a storm surge–when a storm pushes water inland. Watson observed its effects in Patchogue, as water flowed out from the drains, blocks away from the Patchogue Bay.
“When I think about climate change in this area I think about flooding and high sea levels,” Watson said. “If you have high temperatures that lead to more energetic storms that can lead to more storm surges.” She emphasized the danger flooding would have on Long Island communities, especially coastal towns like Port Jefferson, Northport, and Huntington.
David Ansel, the vice president of the center for water protection at Save the Sound, interpreted the data in the context of what it means for the Long Island Sound.
“As it is getting warmer and warmer, that is negatively impacting a number of things,” Ansel said.”One is water pollution and also the actual warming of the water itself, which makes the water less healthy for biodiversity and plant life.”
A warming climate correlates with severe single-day precipitation events, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Heavy rainfall in itself is cause for alarm–it can erode land and damage crops–but the potential for it to cause flooding is among the most detrimental to our community.
Currently, Watson is studying the causes of forest dieback–a condition that leads trees and plants to weaken or die. Watson said. “Episodic storms seem to play a role. It seems [forest dieback] has accelerated a lot more in the past 10 years. It is not something that has started with Hurricane Sandy.”
Long Island infrastructure is ill-suited to deal with the mass amount of rainfall that data shows is becoming increasingly common as temperature rises. The data secured from SERCC did not reveal abnormal rain in recent years, but national studies suggest an increase.
“When it rains a lot in a short amount of time it overwhelms water treatment and for communities,” said Ansel, who is advocating for the replacement of outdated septic tanks and more efficient wastewater facilities.
The Central and Western Basins of the Long Island Sound are healthy, according to a study released by Save the Sound in 2023 that tested the dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll levels, dissolved organic carbon, and water quality. Port Jefferson, Stony Brook, Old Field, and Nissequogue neighbor border this portion of the sound
The Eastern Narrows, which extend from New York City to Eaton’s Neck, is rated lower.
Increasingly, town officials are approaching Ansel for advice on how to improve their stormwater management and prepare for flooding.
Small particles from the raging wildfires in Los Angeles that have killed residents, destroyed homes and businesses and have caused massive evacuations have crossed the country, reaching Long Island.
Arthur Sedlacek, III Aerosol Processes Group leader at Brookhaven National Laboratory
“Our instruments are picking up evidence detecting California wildfires already,” said Arthur Sedlacek, III, Aerosol Processes Group leader in the Environmental & Climate Sciences Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory. “What’s happening 3,000 miles away can impact us” just like the fires in Quebec did.
The amount and concentration of particles on Long Island from these particles doesn’t present a health risk to many people in the population.
“For those who are sensitive to inhalation irritation, it opens up the possibility” of developing breathing difficulties or adding particles that could irritate their lungs, Sedlacek continued.
To be sure, the majority of people on Long Island and the east coast may not react to levels of particulates that are considerably lower than for residents of Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.
Local doctors suggested that these particles can trigger a range of health problems for those who are closer to the flames and smoke.
“The general rule is the larger the exposure, the greater the effect,” said Dr. Norman Edelman, apulmonologist at Stony Brook Medicine.
Researchers have shown that the exposure doesn’t have to be especially high to affect health.
‘We more we look, the more we see that lower and lower doses will have negative effects,” said Edelman.
If and when particulates build in the air where patients with lung challenges live, pulmonologists urge residents to take several steps to protect themselves.
First, they can adjust their medication to respond to a greater health threat.
In addition, they can wear a particle mask, which is not an ordinary surgical mask.
Over time, continued exposure to particulates through pollution, wildfires or other emissions may have a cumulative health effect.
Dr. Norman Edelman. Photo courtesy of SBU
In the South Bronx, about 40 percent of children have asthma, compared with closer to 10 percent for the rest of the country. While genetics may contribute to that level, “we believe it’s because they are exposed to intense, continuous air pollution from motor vehicle traffic,” said Edelman, as cars and trucks on the Cross Bronx Expressway pollute the air in nearby neighborhoods.
The cumulative effect on people with existing disease is more pronounced.
Even when exposure and a lung reaction end, people “don’t quite come back to where [they] started,” said Edelman. “They lose a little bit of lung function.”
Particulates not only can cause damage for people who have chronic lung issues, like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but can also cause problems for people who have other medical challenges.
“We do know that this kind of pollution generates heart attacks in people with heart disease,” said Edelman. “That’s relatively new knowledge.”
A heating cycle
The ongoing fires, which started on Jan. 7 and were exacerbated by the Santa Ana winds of 70 miles per hour, have been consuming everything in their path, throwing a range of particles into the air.
These can include organic particles, black particles, which is akin to something that comes out of the tailpipe of a school bus and all sorts of particles in between, Sedlacek said.
These particles can form condensation nuclei for clouds and water droplets and they can absorb solar radiation and light.
Heating the upper troposphere with particles that absorb radiation alters the typical convention dynamic, in which hot air usually rises and cool air sinks
These changes in convection, which can occur with each of these major wildfires, can affect local air currents and even, in the longer term, broader air circulation patterns.
Sedlacek suggested that some areas in California and in the west may have reduced the use of controlled burns, in part because of the potential for those fires to blaze out of control.
“With the absence of range management and controlled burns to clear out the understory, you don’t have those natural fire breaks that would otherwise exist,” said Sedlacek. “In my opinion, you have to do controlled burns.”
Wildfires, Sedlacek added, are a “natural part of the ecosystem,” returning nutrients that might otherwise be inaccessible to the soil.
Without wildfires or controlled burns, areas can have a build up of understory that grows over the course of decades and that are potentially more dangerous amid a warming planet caused by climate change.
Indeed, recent reports from the Copernicus Climate Change Service indicate that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures reaching 1.6 degrees Celsius above the average in pre-industrial revolution levels. The Paris Climate Accord aimed to keep the increase from the late 19th century to well below 2 degrees, with an emphasis on a 1.5 degree limit.
The fires themselves have become a part of the climate change cycle, contributing particulates and greenhouse gases to processes that have made each of these events that much worse.
“These fires generate greenhouse gases and aerosol particles in the atmosphere that can then further increase or contribute to a warming of the globe,” said Sedlacek. “We have this positive feedback loop.”
In the climate change community, researchers discuss feedback, which can be positive, pushing an event or trend further in the same direction, or negative, which alters a process.
Sedlacek likens this to driving in a car that’s heading to the right towards the shoulder. In negative feedback, a driver steers the car in the other direction while positive feedback pushes the car further from the road.
Wildfires, which contribute and exacerbate global warming, can push the car towards a ditch, Sedlacek said.
Some scientists have urged efforts to engage in geoengineering, in which researchers propose blocking the sun, which would cause negative feedback.
“That might be a great idea on paper, but I don’t know if you want to play chemistry on a global scale,” said Sedlacek. Considering efforts to reduce solar radiation has merit, he suggested, but requires a closer analysis under controlled circumstances to understand it.
“I sincerely hope that the powers that be will appreciate the importance of what we do to understand” these processes, Sedlacek said. Understanding the models researchers have created can inform decisions.
