The continuous blaze of climate change
The wildfires of the recent days and weeks are a stark warning sign of the desperation our world is in. Parts of the UK suffered greatly and received their first ever red warning for extreme heat, with fires quickly breaking out on July 19.
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| Credit: Al Jazeera. |
Wildfires are a major contributor to
greenhouse gas emissions and account for 8% of the 3.3 annual premature deaths
from poor air quality. Climate change is the cause for this; it increases temperatures and worsens
dry conditions in which fires thrive; they spread faster and burn longer. These
hot spells sap moisture from grasslands and vegetation, making the conditions
even drier.
With months of below average rainfall and an unusually high temperature, wildfires sparked across the UK, hitting Cornwall, Kent and Pembrokeshire. Britain’s hottest day in history also gave the London Fire Brigade its busiest day since World War Two. More than 40 houses and shops across the UK were destroyed by the fires and 5,500 hectares of the Brecon Beacons National Park was burnt.
Unfortunately, climate change specialists predict that this is only the start of scorching summers for the UK; as the
years pass, the summers will become hotter and drier, increasing the likelihood
of wildfires. Data from 2014 to 2020 shows a near-consistent rise in the number
of wildfires recorded each year. Shockingly, it was only a decade ago that the
UK government added wildfires to the National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies.
Studies show that the heat is hitting Europe
the hardest, increasing three-to-four times faster than in other Northern areas
such as the United States. In Portugal alone, 50,000 hectares of land has been destroyed
by flames since the beginning of the year.
Data indicates that these wildfires are
year-round; between August and November, North America, the Amazon, Southern
Africa and Australia often see a rise in fires. Whereas in Central Africa and
Southeast Asia, fires are more common through December to March. With a rise in
fires across Europe, this data set is expected to expand. A study undertaken by
Carbon Brief concludes that by the middle of the century, there will be a 35%
increase in days with a high danger of wildfires across the world.
Extinguishing wildfires is a battle if the
fires are not tackled early on. That’s why in Portugal a network of fire
lookouts have been set up in towers throughout the dry season; these observers are
in place to take early action in case of burning with over 900 lookouts across
the country.
The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries
promise to cut emissions fast enough to limit global warming to to 2°C with an aim for 1.5°C.
Surpassing this goal will see future generations suffer from hot extremes for
years to come. Government spending is vital in giving
future generations a break from wildfires, with global governments failing to
take preventative measures through forest management, instead merely increasing
firefighter funding.
A preponderance of wildfires are started inadvertently
or sometimes purposefully by people. To tackle this increasing problem, the
public needs to be educated about how they can reduce the risk of igniting a
fire, such as keeping ignition sources away from grassland. Wildfires can also
be sparked naturally, primarily from lightning, but this is only 4% of cases.
Scientists have introduced the concept of ‘fire danger’ to demonstrate the chances of a fire spreading; this new model will allow citizens to understand the threat level in their local area so that they can take appropriate steps in preventing fires. Fire experts across the US have already undertaken numerous preventative measures to avert wildfires after New Mexico’s wildfires in May of this year, which burnt an area bigger than New York City. These wildfire prediction tools look at the wind speeds and slopes as well as fuel and direction of fire to determine how to tackle the blaze. Another technique used primarily in Australia is ‘prescribed burning’ which sees firefighters burn small patches of grassland early on in the dry season to create a fire break in the landscape, which is essential for slowing the spread of blazes.
The world needs to take this threat seriously before the problem continues to spread. Temperatures will only stop rising if humans stop polluting the atmosphere, until then the fires will continue to burn.