A wildfire in France created a pyrocumulonimbus cloud. That's the technical term for a fire so large it makes its own weather. The cloud can generate thunderstorms. Lightning. Rain that never reaches the ground because the heat evaporates it mid-air.
Retail traders saw the headline and immediately checked if there was a wildfire ETF. There isn't. They moved on.
The fire spread from Bordeaux to Western Madrid. Two countries. One atmospheric event that operates on principles of thermodynamics so violent they override normal meteorological patterns. A column of superheated air rising fast enough to pierce the troposphere and create electrical storms that can start new fires below.
You know what else generates its own chaos through sheer incompetence? The guy who bought Tesla calls after reading a tweet from an account with 47 followers and an anime avatar.
Pyrocumulonimbus clouds form when surface temperatures exceed 300 degrees Celsius. The updraft velocity hits 100 miles per hour. Ash and debris get launched six miles into the atmosphere where ice crystals form and electrical charges separate. Physics doesn't care about your feelings. It also doesn't care about your technical indicators.
The fire cloud kept expanding. Meteorologists tracked it with satellite imagery. Climate scientists published data. Firefighters worked ground operations knowing the storm above them was generating conditions that could worsen their situation at any moment.
Meanwhile some dipshit in Ohio was drawing Fibonacci retracements on a meme stock chart, convinced he'd cracked the code. The fire cloud showed more self-awareness.
Photo by Jarno Colijn on Unsplash
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