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Show HN: LA Wildfire Satellite Analysis

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Re: Show HN: LA Wildfire Satellite Analysis

#61

Post by 7e »

the_third_wave wrote: post #18
7e wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another difference is a steady increase in the world temperature due to climate change.

That is nonsense, the climate has been changing all the time without the place burning down to the roots when it happened to be a bit warmer or not burning at all when it was cooler. These fires have nothing to do with 'climate change', they are caused by the lack of controlled burning which leads to an accumulation of combustible material on the forest floor. Once a fire starts - and fires start all the time, both f…

You win worst comment on HN for the day. https://www.drought.gov/news/study-finds-climate-change-blam...

"It was found that nearly all the observed increase in burned areas over the past half-century is due to human-caused climate change."

Re: Show HN: LA Wildfire Satellite Analysis

#62

Post by [deleted] »

tikkun wrote: post #29

Another fire project idea: show, based on some kind of prediction model that gives 50th, 90th, 99th percentiles (from historical data, perhaps, or perhaps just from wind/fire speeds), how fast a given fire could reach a specific location. Whenever I've opened watch duty, that's always the question I'm asking. How long might it take to reach [here/there]?

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: LA Wildfire Satellite Analysis

#63

Post by keraf »

alienthrowaway wrote: post #54
keraf wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A sibling comment mentioned that it can detect smoke, so my guess is waste disposal, aka burning trash in your backyard. Some can produce quite a lot of smoke. I did a private pilot license in Africa, the biggest "plus" was that I always knew the direction of the wind on the ground by looking at all these fires. There was never a time when I didn't see smoke unless I was flying in very remote areas.

Why did you assume they are burning trash instead of log fires? What was the primary fuel for cooking and heating for poor people in the part of Africa you got your PPL?

It's not an assumption, it's commonly done in some parts of the world that don't have proper waste management. What happens after you put trash in a bin and there's nobody to collect it? You have to get rid of it somehow. Out of many options, such as throwing it in the sea, burring it in the ground or simply burning it, the latter is usually done because it's easier and quicker.

Heating isn't really an issue in the part I lived (warm all year round, even in the night) and the smell of burned plastic is quite distinguishable, even at higher altitudes.

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