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.
“We are still actually catching up with the situation,” said Stefan Doerr, director of the Centre for Wildfire Research at the UK’s Swansea University.
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 Programme report from 2022, there would be 50% more severe wildfires worldwide by the end of the century.
Doerr said humanity had not yet faced up to this reality.
“We’re clearly not well enough prepared for the situation that we’re facing now,” he said.
Climate change is a major driver, though other factors such as land use and the location of housing developments play a big part.
