For the first time, researchers have been able to trace a global trend in the most destructive types of wildfires, responsible for major economic damage as well as loss of animal and human life, the site reports. Phys.org.
This conclusion comes from the study of more than 3,000 wildfires that occurred between 2003 and 2023, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. Researchers found that the frequency of these fires increased 2.2 times during this period. Calum Cunningham, the lead author of the study from the University of Tasmania, Australia, expressed his surprise: “I expected some increase, but this rate alarmed me.”
Unparalleled intensity in recent years
Research highlights that the last six years have been the most intense in terms of fires, particularly in Australia. “Climate change is making fires more extreme and more frequent in many parts of the world”Cunningham told the Washington Post.
According to The New York Times, the global increase in fire frequency and intensity is almost exclusively due to changes in the temperate coniferous forests of the western United States and Canada, as well as the boreal forests of America of the North and Russia. In these areas, the frequency of extreme fires has increased 11-fold and 7.3-fold respectively over the past twenty years. These observations “consistent with the effects of climate change, which is creating warmer and drier conditions in these forests, conducive to extreme events”selon Cunningham.
Firefighters’ challenges against fires
The Washington Post underlines another worrying factor noted by the study: “As nighttime temperatures rise, wildfire intensity remains high overnight”thus complicating the work of firefighters.
Jennifer R. Marlon of Yale University explained to New York Times that the study observes that humans are changing the fire patterns of forests and grasslands “far beyond what we have ever done in the past.”
Climate change: a present reality
Climate change is not a distant phenomenon, insists Calum Cunningham: “This is happening before our eyes. This is the manifestation of the climate overhaul that we are currently carrying out. »
Faced with this alarming situation, France has strengthened its regulations on forest fire prevention with the law of July 10, 2023 no. 2023-580. This law imposes legal clearance obligations (OLD), thus strengthening the prevention and fight against the intensification and extension of fire risk. The new measures include a reinforced information obligation for buyers and tenants of property located in risk areas, and more severe sanctions for non-compliance with bush clearance obligations.
For more information, consult feudeforet.fr and the fire map.
