Unep on the consequences of climate change: Severe forest and bush fires are said to increase massively

According to a UN report, devastating forest fires like those recently in Australia and California will increase significantly due to climate change - and the world is not well prepared for these catastrophes.

"Even with the most ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will see a dramatic increase in the frequency of conditions conducive to extreme fires," said the report released by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on Wednesday.

Unep compiled the report with its partner, the Norwegian environmental institute GRID-Arendal.

The 50 experts involved in the creation explain that extreme forest fires like 2019/2020 in Australia or 2020 in the Arctic are not a direct result of global warming.

But the more frequent and more intense phases of dryness and drought caused by climate change would create particularly favorable conditions for the fires.

Even if global warming can be limited to two degrees in the coming decades compared to the pre-industrial age, the report authors assume an increase in particularly severe fires by nine to 14 percent by 2030.

They expect an increase of 20 to 33 percent by 2050.

By the end of the century, 31 to 52 percent more particularly serious fires are expected - an increase of between almost a third and more than half.

The report deals with particularly severe fires, which in theory only occur once every hundred years.

The probability of less severe fires was not examined, but the authors note that it is "likely that the less extreme episodes are increasing as well".

According to the report, extreme fires are already causing major damage: the resulting smoke is harmful to health, the fires lead to water pollution and habitats for numerous species are being destroyed.

Furthermore, forest fires amplify climate change because they destroy important CO2 stores along with the forests.

According to the report, in the United States alone, the economic damage caused by forest fires in recent years has been between 71 and 348 billion dollars (63 to 307 billion euros).

Almost three billion mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians were killed or injured in the 2019/20 wildfires in Australia.

According to the report, the risk of forest fires cannot be completely avoided.

However, humans can take measures to reduce the frequency of such devastating events.

Instead, the government's response to the growing risk of fire is "putting money in the wrong place," explained Unep boss Inger Andersen.

According to the report, the cost of severe wildfires is far greater than the investment in preventing and fighting the fires.

The authorities all over the world must now invest in prevention, the Unep demanded.

Dead plants on the ground and undergrowth around residential areas would have to be removed more consistently.

Better landscaping and reducing activities that facilitate fire outbreaks would also help, according to the report.

"We need to minimize the risk of extreme fires by being prepared," Andersen said.

This means: "Investing more in reducing risk, working with local communities and increasing global commitment to fight climate change".