INTRODUCTION
- Climate change, according to experts, is causing huge wildfires in the Siberian country of Sakha, commonly known as Yakutia.
- Average temperature in the month of June 2021 in the region was about 20 degrees Celsius, 5 degrees Celsius higher than the normal temperature in the region.
- The wildfires in Yakutia have been driven by rising temperatures combined with historic dryness and precipitation levels 16 times lower than normal.
WILDFIRES –
- The Bootleg wildfire in Oregon, United States, has burned approximately 475,000 acres of land, and the thick smoke is moving 3,000 miles across the continent. Wildfires are raging across the United States, from the West to the East Coast, including New York City, due to extreme dryness, heat, and strong winds.
- Wildfires in British Columbia have prompted the province to declare a state of emergency. “The fire season is increasing longer, the flames are getting larger, and they are burning more ferociously than ever before,” said Thomas Smith, an Assistant Professor in Environmental Geography at the London School of Economics.
- A wildfire is an untamed fire that engulfs forests, meadows, peatlands, and other natural areas and can be caused by natural factors such as global warming, a dry, humid climate, dried-out vegetation, lightning, volcanic eruptions, and human activities.
- Wildfire season traditionally occurs between May and October, when temperatures are exceptionally hot, dry, and humid. Wildfires have historically been more common in the summer, but climate change, heat waves, and droughts have substantially increased the frequency and length of wildfires.
INCREASING RISK OF WILDFIRES –
- Climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), increases the likelihood of storms, droughts, and other weather abnormalities. Weather phenomena that used to occur once every 100 years are now happening once every ten years. As a result, the number of fires is increasing.
- The rate of evaporation increases as the planet’s temperature rises, draining more moisture from plants and causing vegetation to dry out. Droughts, dry, hot, and humid weather conditions can all contribute to an increased risk of catastrophic and protracted wildfires.
- Expert studies have revealed that climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires at an alarming rate around the world.
