Even in the Arctic, the risk of forest fires is increasing due to climate change. By the end of this century, the number of wildfires worldwide will have increased by 50 percent. Experts warn that governments are not prepared for this.
The approach must be radically different, states a report from UNEP – the UN Climate Program – and the non-profit organization GRID-Arendal, with the title Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires.
Climate change, rising temperatures, and changing land use are causing wildfires to increase, rising from 14 percent in 2030 and 30 percent in 2050 to 50 percent by the end of the century, the two organizations have calculated.
From control to prevention
They argue for drastically different spending of the money that governments make available for fighting wildfires. The focus should be much more on preventing and preparing for fires.
Now the focus is mainly on combating. Half of the money should go to planning, prevention and preparation, a third to combat and a fifth to reconstruction. Now fighting the fire usually takes up more than half the cost and hardly any money is allocated for planning.
Wildfires are not only caused by climate change, they also contribute to it. Large amounts of greenhouse gases are released during major wildfires, such as those in Australia and the Americas. The chance of new fires, even in places where there were previously hardly any wildfires, is increasing due to the loss of ecosystems due to human intervention.
Luciferhoutjes
Climate change is increasing drought, causing the loss of fragile and carbon-rich ecosystems such as peatlands and rainforests. “Global warming is making landscapes as dry as matchsticks, while the winds fanning the flames are getting stronger, warmer and drier,” the report said. This makes it even more difficult to prevent temperature rise.
NOS op 3 spoke with experts in 2020 about the risks of large wildfires and accompanied a specialist team:
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