According to scientists, the globe is ill-prepared for the growing intensity of wildfires fueled by climate change, as flames spanning North America to Europe welcome the northern hemisphere summer in the warmest year yet recorded.
This season, wildfires have already burned large areas of Turkey, Canada, Greece, and the United States as intense heatwaves raise temperatures to extremely high levels.
Experts stated that while more funding has recently been allocated to enhance firefighting, planning and preparation for similar calamities have not received the same attention.
According to Stefan Doerr, head of Swansea University's Centre for Wildfire Research in the UK, "we are still actually catching up with the situation."
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According to scientists, the globe is ill-prepared for the growing intensity of wildfires fueled by climate change, as flames spanning North America to Europe welcome the northern hemisphere summer in the warmest year yet recorded.
This season, wildfires have already burned large areas of Turkey, Canada, Greece, and the United States as intense heatwaves raise temperatures to extremely high levels.
Experts stated that while more funding has recently been allocated to enhance firefighting, planning and preparation for similar calamities have not received the same attention.
According to Stefan Doerr, head of Swansea University's Centre for Wildfire Research in the UK, "we are still actually catching up with the situation."
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It can be difficult to forecast the intensity of a single fire, as well as its location and timing, since a variety of elements, such as the local weather, must be taken into account.
However, Doerr, who co-authored a recent article analyzing the frequency and severity of such extreme incidents, stated that generally, wildfires are growing larger and burning more intensely.
According to a different study that was released in June, there seems to have been a 20-year increase in both the incidence and size of intense wildfires.
According to a UN Environment Program report from 2022, there would be 50% more severe wildfires worldwide by the end of the century.
According to Doerr, humanity has not yet come to terms with this fact.
He declared, "It's obvious that we aren't adequately prepared for the situation we find ourselves in right now."
Although other factors like land usage and the location of housing constructions have a significant role, climate change is one of the main drivers.
Since fires know no boundaries, nations have had to cooperate to respond to these catastrophes, according to Jesus San-Miguel, an expert with the European Commission Joint Research Center.
According to San-Miguel, the European Union exemplifies resource sharing, with countries outside its borders benefiting from financial assistance or firefighting equipment during times of need.
But fighting fires won't be an effective solution when they get more intense.
"We hear from our civil protection colleagues that we are powerless to put out the fires. Before it touches the ground, the water evaporates, according to San-Miguel.
"We need to focus more on prevention," he continued.
According to Rory Hadden of the University of Edinburgh, there are several efficient methods to reduce the quantity of burnable fuel covering the forest floor, including managed burns, livestock grazing, and mechanical vegetation clearance.
According to Hadden, a specialist in fire safety and engineering, road construction can serve as a firebreak and can effectively reduce the number of campfire starts and spread.
However, governments that may have other priorities and tight resources must provide financing and planning for these initiatives, and the results are not always obvious right once.
"Regardless of the approach or strategy you take to maintain a landscape, the end outcome of that investment is inaction, which makes it an extremely strange psychological phenomenon. The achievement is—well—nothing occurred, according to Hadden.
When it comes to clearing the space right in front of their homes and communities of any vegetation, local groups and citizens frequently take the initiative.
However, some people are not ready to acknowledge that their community may be in danger.
San-Miguel stated, "People don't think that it will happen to them, but it eventually will," citing regions that have historically been cool or wet, such as the US Pacific Northwest, which has recently seen significant fires.
Canada has adjusted to the new normal of high latitude wildfires, whereas certain Scandinavian nations are getting ready for an ever-increasing risk of wildfires.
Even in areas where fire has long been a part of the environment, Guillermo Rein from Imperial College London noted that the best way to combat the threat is still up for debate.
Sometimes the most obvious lessons are ignored, even in areas recently devastated by fire.
"People's memories of wildfires are very short," according to fire science specialist Rein.
Even after the largest single day of flames London has seen since the World War II bombs in July 2022, only scholars remained debating the best ways to get ready for what lay ahead.
"Everyone is asking inquiries while the wildfires are occurring... Within a year of their disappearance, people forget about it, he claimed.
