British newspaper: The world is burning..and here is the evidence that the climate crisis is the cause

published

by the British newspaper "The Independent" states that dangerous forest fires are spreading all over the world, and that the combination of heat and drought creates the right conditions for these fires.

The report shows that forest fires broke out in large parts of Europe amid severe heat waves this week;

in Britain, France, Spain and Portugal.

The Mayor of London was quoted as saying that last Tuesday was the most stressful day for firefighters in the city since World War Two.

He added that so far this year, the fires have consumed more than 1.1 million acres across Europe, far more than the average over the past 15 years of just 270,000 acres.

More severe and common

He said that the climate crisis can make fire years seem normal, as well as droughts and heat waves more intense and more common, and this is especially true across the Mediterranean region, which is warming by 20% compared to the rest of the world.

The report recalled unprecedented fires in Indonesia, Australia and North America in the past few years.

He said that forest fires have been a feature of some regions for thousands of years, but are now raging with unprecedented size and ferocity in new parts of the world as the climate crisis worsens.

heat waves and droughts

And the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was quoted as saying that the continued warming of the planet is causing more frequent and severe heat waves and droughts, which is an ideal situation for igniting wildfires.

The report went on to show that prolonged drought is particularly dangerous in causing fires;

Dry plants such as grasses and fallen leaves burn quickly and intensely, acting like a torch that can turn small sparks or flames into massive fires.

He said the world's temperature has risen by 1.1-1.2 degrees Celsius over the past 150 years, making the world hotter and drier, according to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world's leading authority on climate science.

Frequency of heat waves as the temperature rises

He explained that if the global temperature rises by two degrees Celsius, heat waves that occur once every 10 years will occur approximately every two years.

The committee adds that droughts, which occur once every 10 years, will more than double as often.

He added that some regions would be more vulnerable to devastating fires, and quoted a United Nations report for 2022 that an explosive growth in fire activity is expected across sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and Western Australia as the climate crisis intensifies.

The report pointed out that the American West proves that it is a hotbed of wildfires, and that the increased risks were represented in two decades, and it would not have been possible to achieve it without the climate crisis.

A recent study found that the past 22 years have been the driest in the region for at least 1,200 years.

And the United Nations was quoted as warning that large and frequent forest fires will create dangerous feedback loops.