(CNN) America's two largest active wildfires have burned land nearly the size of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago combined— as drought and extreme heat continue to make matters worse for those fighting the massive fires in the West. "We can't ignore how the overlapping and intertwined factors— extreme heat, prolonged drought and supercharged wildfire conditions— are affecting the country. Extreme weather is well on its way to being the new normal as the climate crisis makes wildfires and heatwaves a regular occurrence. Wildfires rage in Lebanon and TurkeyAs wildfires continue to destroy US lands, other countries are also on the frontlines of the climate crisis. In the Middle East, there is an "environmental disaster" as large-scale wildfires spread in Lebanon, the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative warned Thursday.

Source: CNN July 31, 2021 08:59 UTC