Climate change blamed as EU’s forest fires nearly treble in 2017
Climate change blamed as EU’s forest fires nearly treble in 2017
15 August 2017
published by http://www.euronews.com
Europe – Exclusive: The number of forest fires in the EU has nearly trebled so far this year, according to figures obtained by Euronews, affecting an area close to twice the size of Luxembourg.
There have been 1,068 blazes in 2017 a huge increase on the 404 the bloc saw annually on average over the previous eight years.
Experts have blamed climate change for the rise, saying it has extended the traditional wildfire season and increased the frequency of blazes.
They have warned Europes forest fires will rage more often in the future and engulf new areas.
Portugal, Italy and Croatia have battled blazes in recent days amid high temperatures and lower-than-normal rainfall.
It comes less than a month since 64 people died in a forest fire in Portugal, with many victims caught in their cars as they tried to flee.
Starting earlier, burning longer
Thomas Curt, a researcher at the National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, said global warming was a factor in Portugals deadly fire and that climate change had extended the wildfire season from two to up to five months.
Alexander Held, a senior expert at the European Forest Institute, backed Curts claim saying fires were starting earlier and burning for longer.
We will see a lot more surprises and fires burning in places that dont have a fire history, Held told Euronews. Spain burns, yes, but its not a surprise.
Well see more fires and more intense fires in the Mediterranean and new fire situations in countries that dont really expect it.
Held said Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland could be among the countries who see more wildfires than they are used to.
Last year a study led by the University of Leicester revealed Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia as the European areas most at risk of wildfires threatening people.
Invest in prevention
I would say its the weather and weather is the short-term of climate. We do have these more extreme weather situations more often, so this is climate change, Held continued.
But its a very welcome excuse to say its climate change. It gives you a nice way out to say its climate change.
Held, a forester and a fire specialist, called for more to be done to prevent fires by managing the land better.
He said the land hit in Portugals deadly fire last month was owned by forestry companies who had no incentive to limit their profits by putting in fire breaks.
Wildfire politics
Theres nobody on a European level to say yes we need helicopters and the fire service but lets take 10 percent of the firefighting budget and invest that in strategic vegetation management, he said.
Firefighting is expensive, with all the vehicles and aerial resources. It would be a fraction of this budget to invest in managing the land.
Or compensate a landowner if he is cutting fire breaks or providing better access to his land or if he does a risk analysis.
At the moment this is very neglected. The reality is firefighting is very political and business-driven, especially with helicopters and aircraft.
As a politician if you order more helicopters you are seen as a very active politician but if you invest in clearing land, no-one from the media will show any interest in your prevention work.
Your view What do you think? Have you got a story to tell about wildfires? Let me know: chris.harris@euronews.com
