In the last few years, the world has seen a drastic shift in wildfire regimes, with more intense and frequent wildfires affecting large areas of land.
About Wildfires
- Meaning: Any unplanned and uncontrolled vegetation fire that, regardless of ignition source, may negatively affect social, economic or environmental values, and require suppression response or other action according to agency policy (FAO).
- Causes for Increased Incidences of Wildfires
- Climate Change: marked by hotter temperatures, prolonged dry spells, dry lightning, and extreme wind patterns.
- Land-Use Changes: such as deforestation, expansion of monoculture plantations, and the draining of peatlands
- Fuel Availability: Accumulation of dry, fine, and continuous vegetative fuels like grasses, leaves, and shrubs,
- Human Activities: E.g., agricultural burning such as slash-and-burn shifting cultivation
Impacts of Wildfires
- Negative
- Economic: Global wildfires accounted for ~ USD 106 billion in total economic losses (Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction).
- Human Health: Wildfire smoke contains toxic particulate matter (PM2.5).
- Environmental: Destroy biodiversity and emit significant greenhouse gases- accelerating a climate feedback loop that causes more warming and more fires.
- Positive
- Ecological Rejuvenation: Small, low-intensity fires act as a natural ecological tool by clearing out dead organic material and recycling nutrients rapidly back into the soil.
Initiatives takenGlobal
National
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