north america – The Fund Society

Wildfire Area Burned by U.S. State in 2023

Published

12 seconds ago

June 8, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Charted: Wildfire Area Burned by U.S. State in 2023

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Wildfires have become a summer specter in North America, looming on the horizon as parts of the country warm and dry out.

We chart the total wildfire area burned in 2023 in the U.S., categorized by state, based on figures from the National Interagency Coordination Center.

Which U.S. States Saw the Most Area Burned by Wildfires?

Wildfires in California and Alaska together account for one-fourth of all land burned in the U.S. in 2023. Both states saw wildfire damage to more than 300,000 acres.

Zooming out, nearly half of the 2.7 million acres affected by wildfires in 2023 were concentrated in only five states.

RankStateAcres Burned (2023)% Of 2023
Acres Burned 1California332,72212% 2Alaska314,27612% 3New Mexico212,3788% 4Texas210,2648% 5Oregon202,0357% 6Arizona188,4837% 7Nebraska180,7337% 8Oklahoma162,4896% 9Washington151,3166% 10Montana123,1335% 11Florida99,6424% 12Idaho87,8013% 13North Carolina73,9533% 14Mississippi52,5082% 15West Virginia45,6792% 16Colorado41,9172% 17Louisiana22,1031% 18Alabama18,3351% 19Utah18,1091% 20New Jersey18,0331% 21Kansas17,9631% 22Tennessee15,3941% 23Virginia12,0850% 24Hawaii12,0590% 25Georgia10,3300% 26Pennsylvania9,6280% 27Missouri9,4990% 28Minnesota9,4160% 29Wyoming7,9340% 30Arkansas5,6590% 31Wisconsin4,8830% 32Maryland4,4860% 33Michigan4,2870% 34North Dakota4,1830% 35Ohio2,4690% 36Massachusetts1,4680% 37New York1,3830% 38Nevada1,3000% 39South Dakota9450% 40South Carolina5910% 41Rhode Island5820% 42Indiana5210% 43Maine3250% 44Connecticut2970% 45Illinois1110% 46Kentucky700% 47Vermont620% 48New Hampshire580% 49Iowa60% 50Delaware00% N/ATotal2,693,910N/A
Note: Figures rounded in the chart.

Due to hot, dry summers, Western states in particular see more wildfires. The New York Times notes that the American West has a Mediterranean climate where precipitation is concentrated around winter months. Thus the region’s hottest and driest months coincide.

Ranked: Top 10 Deadliest Animals for Humans

Published

8 seconds ago

June 2, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Ranked: Top 10 Deadliest Animals for Humans

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

While running into wild animals in a forest can seem like the worst situation for humans, there are plenty of other animals that are far deadlier than large predators.

We rank the top 10 deadliest animals by the number of people killed per year. Data for this visualization and article is sourced from BBC Science Focus.

Spreaders of Diseases are Deadliest for Humans

Mosquitoes, of course, are the reigning champions on the toll they take on humans. Every year they kill more than 700,000 people through a multitude of deadly diseases—dengue, yellow fever, and malaria.

By some estimates, mosquitoes are responsible for the deaths of half of all the humans that have ever lived.

RankAnimalHumans Killed Annually 1🦟 Mosquitoes*725,000 2👫 Humans**400,000 3🐍 Snakes138,000 4🐕 Dogs*59,000 5🐜 Assassin Bugs*10,000 6🦂 Scorpions3,300 7🐊 Crocodiles1,000 8🐘 Elephants600 9🦛 Hippos500 10🦁 Lions200
Note: *Spreads diseases. **Homicides only.

Meanwhile, humans are (almost) their own worst enemies. Every year, nearly 400,000 homicides take place, making humans the second-deadliest animal for other human beings. And this doesn’t account for all the human-caused accidents that result in fatalities.

At fourth place, dogs may be our best friends, but as a carrier of the deadly rabies virus, they end up fourth on the list of top 10 deadliest animals.

Rounding out the top five are assassin bugs, which spread the parasite that causes Chagas disease, a condition that can go untreated for years and can result in serious complications that make it life-threatening.

Large mammals, including lions, hippos, and elephants round out the top 10. Interestingly, bears kill around one person a year on average and wouldn’t be anywhere close to making this list of the deadliest animals.

animals Assassin Bugs Chagas disease deadliest animals Dengue dogs elephants Environment homicides humans lions malaria Misc mosquitoes north america Science south america wildlife Yellow fever

How People Get Around in America, Europe, and Asia

Published

1 hour ago

May 8, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

How People Get Around in America, Europe, and Asia

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This chart highlights the popularity of different transportation types in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, calculated by modal share.

Data for this article and visualization is sourced from ‘The ABC of Mobility’, a research paper by Rafael Prieto-Curiel (Complexity Science Hub) and Juan P. Ospina (EAFIT University), accessed through ScienceDirect.

The authors gathered their modal share data through travel surveys, which focused on the primary mode of transportation a person employs for each weekday trip. Information from 800 cities across 61 countries was collected for this study.

North American Car Culture Contrasts with the Rest of the World

In the U.S. and Canada, people heavily rely on cars to get around, no matter the size of the city. There are a few exceptions of course, such as New York, Toronto, and smaller college towns across the United States.

Region🚗 Cars🚌 Public Transport🚶 Walking/Biking North America*92%5%4% Central America23%42%35% South America29%40%31% Northern Europe48%29%24% Western Europe43%24%34% Southern Europe50%24%25% Eastern Europe35%40%25% Southeastern Asia44%43%13% Western Asia43%28%29% Southern Asia22%39%39% Eastern Asia19%46%35% World51%26%22%
Note: *Excluding Mexico. Percentages are rounded.

As a result, North America’s share of public transport and active mobility (walking and biking) is the lowest amongst all surveyed regions by a significant amount.

On the other hand, public transport reigns supreme in South and Central America as well as Southern and Eastern Asia. It ties with cars in Southeastern Asia, and is eclipsed by cars in Western Asia.

As outlined in the paper, Europe sees more city-level differences in transport popularity.

For example, Utrecht, Netherlands prefers walking and biking. People in Paris and London like using their extensive transit systems. And in Manchester and Rome, roughly two out of three journeys are by car.

asia Automotive biking Canada car culture Cars Culture europe Green london Manchester Misc modal share netherlands north america paris public transit rome south america transport transport popularity transport share transport type travel U.S. walking