Wildfire risk will rise, UN report says

A new report suggests wildfire risk will rise in this century. This satellite image from February 16, 2022, shows one of the places on Earth suffering from wildfire extremes this month. Northeastern Argentina has had a record-setting heatwave and ongoing drought. By late January 2022, more than a thousand fires were burning around Corrientes province, a predominantly rural and agricultural region that had seen little to no rain in two months. Since the fires began in December, more than 520,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) have burned, according to NASA Earth Observatory.

Wildfire risk will rise

A new United Nations report released this morning (February 23, 2022) says we can expect uncontrollable wildfires to increase in this century. The projections are for a 14% increase by 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century. It’s not surprising, given that wildfires in recent years have caused increasing and headline-grabbing levels of damage. Even deep cuts to greenhouse emissions won’t prevent the expected uncontrollable wildfire increase, said the scientists who wrote the report. The work also found that communities are not prepared for the rising threat of damages from wildfires.

The report is called Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires. You can download it here. It was conducted in partnership with the nonprofit GRID-Arendal, based in Norway. It suggests that even Arctic and other regions previously unaffected by wildfires will be experiencing wildfires later in this century.

Why?

Climate change and land-use change are the two reasons cited in the report.

A statement from the U.N. said the new study suggests a need for a radical change in government spending on wildfires. It suggests a shift in investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness. The U.N. said:

The publication calls on governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula,’ with 2/3 of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with 1/3 left for response. Currently, direct responses to wildfires typically receive over half of related expenditures, while planning receives less than 1%.

To prevent fires, authors call for a combination of data and science-based monitoring systems with indigenous knowledge and for a stronger regional and international cooperation.

The report was released prior to the resumed fifth session of the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), which will convene in Nairobi between February 28 and March 2, 2022.

This illustration shows the distribution of acreage burned by “large” wildfires, based on the level of damage caused to the landscape. It’s a measure of wildfire severity. Large wildfires are defined as fires with an area larger than 1,000 acres in the western United States and 500 acres in the eastern United States. Image via EPA: Climate Change Indicators.

Prevention and preparedness

Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director, told the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang:

Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place. Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported.

We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.

Impeding sustainable development

You may have heard of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. They were formulated in the hope of creating a more equitable and healthy world for humans and living creatures. According to the U.N., wildfires disproportionately affect the world’s poorest nations. They impede progress towards the 17 Goals and deepen social inequalities. That’s because the impact of wildfires extends for days, weeks and even years after the flames subside. The U.N. said:

– People’s health is directly affected by inhaling wildfire smoke, causing respiratory and cardiovascular impacts and increased health effects for the most vulnerable;
– The economic costs of rebuilding after areas are struck by wildfires can be beyond the means of low-income countries;
– Watersheds are degraded by wildfires’ pollutants; they also can lead to soil erosion causing more problems for waterways;
– Wastes left behind are often highly contaminated and require appropriate disposal.

Wildfires and climate change

Plus the U.N. pointed out that wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating:”

Wildfires are made worse by climate change through increased drought, high air temperatures, low relative humidity, lightning, and strong winds resulting in hotter, drier, and longer fire seasons. At the same time, climate change is made worse by wildfires, mostly by ravaging sensitive and carbon-rich ecosystems like peatlands and rainforests. This turns landscapes into tinderboxes, making it harder to halt rising temperatures.

Animal deaths

And it mentioned Earth’s non-human life isn’t likely to be spared from the effects of increasing wildfires:

Wildlife and its natural habitats are rarely spared from wildfires, pushing some animal and plant species closer to extinction. A recent example is the Australian 2020 bushfires, which are estimated to have wiped out billions of domesticated and wild animals.

Read more from the U.N. about the new wildfire report.

Bottom line: A new U.N. report says wildfire risk will rise. The report projects a 14% increase by 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century.

The post Wildfire risk will rise, UN report says first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/FJgsqTO

A new report suggests wildfire risk will rise in this century. This satellite image from February 16, 2022, shows one of the places on Earth suffering from wildfire extremes this month. Northeastern Argentina has had a record-setting heatwave and ongoing drought. By late January 2022, more than a thousand fires were burning around Corrientes province, a predominantly rural and agricultural region that had seen little to no rain in two months. Since the fires began in December, more than 520,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) have burned, according to NASA Earth Observatory.

Wildfire risk will rise

A new United Nations report released this morning (February 23, 2022) says we can expect uncontrollable wildfires to increase in this century. The projections are for a 14% increase by 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century. It’s not surprising, given that wildfires in recent years have caused increasing and headline-grabbing levels of damage. Even deep cuts to greenhouse emissions won’t prevent the expected uncontrollable wildfire increase, said the scientists who wrote the report. The work also found that communities are not prepared for the rising threat of damages from wildfires.

The report is called Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires. You can download it here. It was conducted in partnership with the nonprofit GRID-Arendal, based in Norway. It suggests that even Arctic and other regions previously unaffected by wildfires will be experiencing wildfires later in this century.

Why?

Climate change and land-use change are the two reasons cited in the report.

A statement from the U.N. said the new study suggests a need for a radical change in government spending on wildfires. It suggests a shift in investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness. The U.N. said:

The publication calls on governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula,’ with 2/3 of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with 1/3 left for response. Currently, direct responses to wildfires typically receive over half of related expenditures, while planning receives less than 1%.

To prevent fires, authors call for a combination of data and science-based monitoring systems with indigenous knowledge and for a stronger regional and international cooperation.

The report was released prior to the resumed fifth session of the U.N. Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2), which will convene in Nairobi between February 28 and March 2, 2022.

This illustration shows the distribution of acreage burned by “large” wildfires, based on the level of damage caused to the landscape. It’s a measure of wildfire severity. Large wildfires are defined as fires with an area larger than 1,000 acres in the western United States and 500 acres in the eastern United States. Image via EPA: Climate Change Indicators.

Prevention and preparedness

Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director, told the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang:

Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place. Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the frontlines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported.

We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared: invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities, and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.

Impeding sustainable development

You may have heard of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. They were formulated in the hope of creating a more equitable and healthy world for humans and living creatures. According to the U.N., wildfires disproportionately affect the world’s poorest nations. They impede progress towards the 17 Goals and deepen social inequalities. That’s because the impact of wildfires extends for days, weeks and even years after the flames subside. The U.N. said:

– People’s health is directly affected by inhaling wildfire smoke, causing respiratory and cardiovascular impacts and increased health effects for the most vulnerable;
– The economic costs of rebuilding after areas are struck by wildfires can be beyond the means of low-income countries;
– Watersheds are degraded by wildfires’ pollutants; they also can lead to soil erosion causing more problems for waterways;
– Wastes left behind are often highly contaminated and require appropriate disposal.

Wildfires and climate change

Plus the U.N. pointed out that wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating:”

Wildfires are made worse by climate change through increased drought, high air temperatures, low relative humidity, lightning, and strong winds resulting in hotter, drier, and longer fire seasons. At the same time, climate change is made worse by wildfires, mostly by ravaging sensitive and carbon-rich ecosystems like peatlands and rainforests. This turns landscapes into tinderboxes, making it harder to halt rising temperatures.

Animal deaths

And it mentioned Earth’s non-human life isn’t likely to be spared from the effects of increasing wildfires:

Wildlife and its natural habitats are rarely spared from wildfires, pushing some animal and plant species closer to extinction. A recent example is the Australian 2020 bushfires, which are estimated to have wiped out billions of domesticated and wild animals.

Read more from the U.N. about the new wildfire report.

Bottom line: A new U.N. report says wildfire risk will rise. The report projects a 14% increase by 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by the end of the century.

The post Wildfire risk will rise, UN report says first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/FJgsqTO