Do the fires which continue to rage in Los Angeles, transforming part of the second American city into a giant blaze, foreshadow the future in other regions of the world and, in particular, in France? Climate change will lead to more megafires on the planet in the coming decades. Rising global temperatures, increased frequency of heat waves and droughts form a fatal cocktail that increases conditions conducive to fires. If the Californian situation is not entirely comparable to that of France, it presents similarities and constitutes a warning light for specialists, who follow it closely.
“The American West is a precursor of what will happen to us in France, in terms of a series of droughts, heatwaves and potential human and economic damage from fires”warns Julien Ruffault, researcher specializing in fires at the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Inrae). Beyond the climate, California and the Mediterranean rim, particularly the south-east of France, are home to “fairly close vegetation, like flammable scrubland”adds Renaud Barbero, climatologist at INRAE. The extent of continuous forest, however, is much greater than in the United States, so that the “Fires are bigger and more powerful there”he specifies.
-You have 78.17% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
France
Volleyball
