Increasing Wildfires in the World
Kartavya Desk Staff
Syllabus: Disaster Management
Source: IE
Context: Arctic wildfires have become more frequent and intense due to global warming, causing significant environmental concerns. In 2024, over 160 wildfires in Sakha, Russia, burned nearly 460,000 hectares.
Why Arctic is prone to wildfires?
The Arctic is experiencing rapid warming, approximately four times faster than the global average. This significant increase in temperature, about 3°C since 1980, has led to more frequent lightning strikes, which have more than doubled in regions like Alaska and the Northwest Territories since 1975, further aggravating wildfires. Additionally, the polar jet stream has slowed due to reduced temperature differences between the Arctic and lower latitudes. This results in prolonged warm weather and intense heatwaves, further increasing the risk of wildfires in the Arctic region.
How Climate change is driving heatwaves and wildfires in the Arctic and other regions?
• Geographical reason: Climate change affects jet streams, causing them to split and create areas of weak winds and high pressure conducive to heat waves.
• Global warming: Human activities have increased global temperatures by about 1.2°C since pre-industrial times, raising the baseline temperature during extreme heat events (e.g., Australia’s 2019-20 ‘Black Summer’ fires).
• Creating ground: Climate change creates hot, dry conditions that help fires spread faster and burn longer. It dries out vegetation, turning it into fuel, and pushes wildfires into new regions.
• Other factors: Forest management and ignition sources, like human activities, also contribute to wildfires. Controlled burns and forest gaps can help limit severe fires.
Impact of increased heatwaves and wildfires
• Threat to life and property: it poses a direct threat to people’s lives and property as it forces people to leave their homes. For instance, heat waves in France have brought severe droughts there resulting in the water crisis.
• For instance, heat waves in France have brought severe droughts there resulting in the water crisis.
• Pollution: Various polluting gasses are released whenever there is a wildfire, like Nitrous oxide, Co2, PM 2.5 and *particulate matter lesser than 2.5 microns which could severe health issues such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases*.
• Health-related issues: The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke.
• Vicious cycle: Wildfires also burn up the carbon stored in trees and soil, releasing large amounts of smoke, methane, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which increase overall temperatures.
• Threat to biodiversity: increased heat waves and Wildfires destroy the habitats and the intricate relationships of diverse flora and fauna leading to loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. For instance, Florida’s sea turtles are grappling with a gender imbalance made worse by climate change which has resulted in sand beaches getting hotter leading to every turtle being born as female.
• For instance, Florida’s sea turtles are grappling with a gender imbalance made worse by climate change which has resulted in sand beaches getting hotter leading to every turtle being born as female.
Various steps taken by countries to mitigate its impact:
Country | Steps Taken
USA | The US Senate passed a $430 billion bill to fight climate change and raise corporate taxes.
Japan | Initiated research for a green GDP measurement reflecting progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Germany | The European Commission approved a €3 billion scheme to support renewable energy and waste heat-based district heating programmes.
India | Approved new targets for slashing emissions and aims to meet half of its energy demands from renewable sources by 2030.
Measures needed
• Awareness: Improving community information and preparedness reduces vulnerability.
• Improved development planning, building standards and management of the forest-urban boundary reduces exposure.
• Early warning: Information about forest dryness is useful for early warning and preparedness for extreme fires. Similarly, mapping climate variability across many years can help predict extreme years.
• National and local measures: Pursuing ambitious global greenhouse gas mitigation alongside national and local measures to adapt to a climate-changed world, is a necessary strategy if we are to limit further increases in fire risk
• GHG mitigation: While efforts can be made to limit vulnerability, exposure and fire itself, it is clear that the contribution of climate change to fire risk would be lower if greenhouse gas emissions were curtailed.
Conclusion
Climate change is happening. This should be accepted and not politicised. International cooperation to address climate change is vital to mitigate the adverse impact. Additionally, mitigation must be complemented with climate change-related adaption since mitigation alone cannot address the adverse effects we are facing right now.
Insta Links
• Forest Fires
Practice Questions
Enumerate the causes for the rising instances of forest fires in India. What measures are needed to mitigate the adverse impacts of forest fires? (250 Words)