Fires are Getting Worse
Fire has always been a part of our world, often vital for ecosystems to replenish and rejuvenate. For example, in Australia Eucalyptus trees evolved to encourage fires spreading to limit invasive populations. However, we now see twice as much tree cover being burnt globally as we did 20 years ago, while 5 of the 10 deadliest fires since 1900 have occurred in the past 6 years. Humanity has always lived alongside fire, but never like the fires we are seeing now.
Last year alone:
- Canada burnt double their previous record in land area.
- Greece had their largest evacuation due to a fire.
- Another fire in Greece become Europe’s largest ever.
- Australia saw 3x as much area as Canada burn.
- In February Texas saw their largest fire ever.
Mike Flannigan, simplifies fires to 3 points, fuel load, ignition, and fire weather. Some people still claim that the increase in fires around the world is primarily due to land management. There is no evidence for this. While this plays a part in some places, ‘fire weather’ is the variable which is changing. Research has shown that the increased area burnt in California is almost entirely due to climate change. It is the warming climate and increasingly chaotic weather patterns which are fuelling these unprecedented fires. We cannot only adapt by managing fires better. We have profoundly altered the fire systems of Earth and must adapt while limiting further change by reducing methane emissions rapidly.
The longer we take to reach net-zero, the worse the fires we’ll live alongside will be.
#Wildfires #ClimateEmergency #DavidWallaceWells
Published by NYT | 14 February 2024