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What Are 'Fire Clouds', the Ominous Phenomenon Seen in France?
The giant storm clouds can create their own winds and lightning, making the blazes harder to control, experts said.
- Firefighters battling massive wildfires in France's Gironde region are contending with "fire clouds," or pyrocumulonimbus clouds, that create dangerous wind and lightning conditions near Bordeaux.
- Nasa calls these formations the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds," which occur when intense wildfire heat rises, cools rapidly in the atmosphere, and generates energy capable of spreading blazes further.
- Rick McRae, a senior fire manager for 30 years, said the cloud "is confirmation that the fire is very dangerous," noting these plumes can impact roughly 10,000 cubic kilometres of the atmosphere.
- While common in Australia or California, experts note this phenomenon is new to France, complicating efforts to manage fires that generate their own unpredictable weather systems.
- Forecasters warn another heatwave could hit France from Tuesday, with woodland areas dried out since May and climate models indicating these trends will increase in severity.
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Svenska Dagbladet+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
They are abbreviated as “pyrocb”, and have previously been most associated with nuclear bombs and volcanic eruptions. But during Australia’s so-called black summer of 2019–20, they became more widely known as a horror scenario even during intense bushfires. Now, for the first time, the “fire thunder clouds” have been noted as far north in Europe as France.
·Stockholm, Sweden
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Even firefighters fear the phenomenon: a firestorm produced by the forest fires rages in France.
·Berlin, Germany
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The fires are raging in Europe. In both Spain and France, a total of over a quarter of a million people have been displaced from their homes, and in France the flames are far from under control. From the French authorities ...
·Aarhus, Denmark
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Total News Sources43
Leaning Left5Leaning Right7Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution37% Center, 37% Right
Bias Distribution
- 37% of the sources are Center, 37% of the sources lean Right
37% Right
L 26%
C 37%
R 37%
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