"A new U.N. report says communities need to prepare for the growing threat by refocusing on prevention, rather than just reacting to fires as they happen."
"As global warming heats the air and land, drying out trees and other plants, people around the world need to reset their expectations of where, when and how long wildfires will burn, warns a new global wildfire report released today.
In a sweeping look, the scientists who authored the report for the United Nations Environmental Programme project a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 percent by 2030, 30 percent by the end of 2050 and 50 percent by the end of the century.
The rapid change in fire conditions was the “driving reason for producing the analysis we’ve done,” said Andrew Sullivan, with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Canberra, Australia, one of the lead editors of the report.
“Eliminating the risk of wildfires is not possible, but much can be done to manage and reduce the risks that they pose,” he said. “Integrated wildfire management, considering social and environmental dimensions and traditional and Indigenous land management, is key to adapting to current and future wildfire risk.”"
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 23, 2022.
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