Melbourne, Oct 16 (The Conversation) We've all witnessed the distressing scenes: smoke billowing from the dense Amazon jungles, Spanish firefighters contending with flames across farmlands, charred celebrity residences in Los Angeles, and smoke-laden regional towns in Australia.
If you perceived that wildfires and their effects seemed more severe over the past year, you’re correct. Our recent report, crafted through a global collaboration of scientists, reveals how climate change has intensified the world's wildfires in unforeseen and destructive ways.
Human-induced climate change has increased the area consumed by wildfires, or bushfires in Australia, by a factor of 30 in certain regions globally. Our findings provide crucial new evidence showing climate change is escalating the frequency and intensity of extreme fires. It starkly emphasizes the need to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Evidence is clear – climate change is exacerbating wildfire severity.
A Clear Pattern emerged as our study utilized satellite data and advanced modeling to identify and analyze the causes of wildfires in the past year. The research team examined the impact of climate and land use changes, revealing a distinct interconnection between climate and extreme events.
Regional experts contributed local insights to capture events and effects that satellite imagery missed. For Oceania, Dr. Sarah Harris from the Country Fire Authority and I played this role.
Globally, a land area larger than India – approximately 3.7 million square kilometers – was burned last year. Over 100 million people experienced the consequences, and approximately US$215 billion in homes and infrastructure were endangered.
Not only does a warming climate contribute to more hazardous, fire-prone conditions, but it also influences vegetation growth and drying, creating more fuel for fires.
While bushfires in Australia didn’t reach the scale or impact of previous seasons like the 2019-20 Black Summer fires, over 1,000 large fires burned around 470,000 hectares in Western Australia, and more than 5 million hectares in central Australia. In Victoria, two-thirds of the Grampians National Park's territory was scorched.
In the United States, our analysis indicated the deadly Los Angeles wildfires in January were twice as probable and burned a 25 times larger area than would have occurred in a world without global warming.
Unusually wet weather in Los Angeles over the preceding 30 months fostered strong vegetation growth, setting the stage for wildfires during an abnormally hot and dry January.
In South America, fires in the Pantanal-Chiquitano region, spanning the borders of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, were 35 times larger due to climate change. Record-setting fires ravaged sections of the Amazon and Congo, releasing billions of tons of carbon dioxide.
It's Not Too Late to act. If global greenhouse gas emissions persist on their current trajectory, we’ll face more frequent and severe landscape fires worldwide.
Nevertheless, urgent action can be taken. We must commit to stronger and swifter climate measures to cut fossil fuel emissions, protect ecosystems, and reduce land clearance.
Improving our response to wildfire risks, through nuanced forest management and enhancing household disaster preparedness, is essential.
Since fires vary regionally, responses must also be localized. Leveraging local and regional expertise, including First Nations knowledge, should be prioritized in bushfire responses.
Action at COP30 is critical. In 2024-25, wildfires emitted over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide, about 10% more than the average since 2003. Emissions were over three times the global average in South American dry forests and wetlands, and double the average in Canadian boreal forests.
The substantial greenhouse gas emissions alone surpassed the fossil fuel CO₂ emissions of over 200 individual countries in 2024.
Next month, global leaders, scientists, NGOs, and civil society will convene in Belem, Brazil, for the United Nations' annual climate summit, COP30, to discuss strategies to combat climate change.
The most substantial contribution developed nations can make to mitigate the worst impacts of extreme wildfires is to pledge to rapidly decrease greenhouse gas emissions this decade. (The Conversation) SCY SCY
(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
