Wildfires: Are We Still Debating Whether Climate Change is Real?

Good intentions on paper mean nothing if not followed up with real and effective actions on the ground. These actions need to focus on forests, where the fire crisis is at its worst – Fran Price, Global leader for forests at WWF

The biggest challenge in protecting pristine forest ecosystems, apart from deforestation, is combating wildfires. It has been reported that the number of wildfire outbreaks around the globe increased by 13% in April 2019 as compared to previous years with 2020 hit even worse. Wildfires have been raging with ferocity, from the bustling Amazon to the lonely Arctic. Incidents of massive wildfires have been reported in Kashmir valley as well, unfortunately, that have increased in frequency since the past few years signaling the need for for an immediate and drastic response.
Australia was struck by an atrocious forest fire, and the propelled smoke reached upper parts of the atmosphere. Devastation could be seen from space. A multi-diverse domain consisting of temperate broadleaf and mixed forest biome was lost, and millions of hectares of land were rendered barren – devoid of cover.
Far west in California, firefighters battled some of the largest wildfires in recorded history. These fires were devastating, incessantly burning ecosystems and livelihoods of communities. In the winter of 2019-20, California only received half its normal levels of precipitation, suggesting the role of climate anomalies in increased incidences of wildfires.
With loss of forest cover in the first half of 2020 totalled at 307,000 hectares, which is 26% more than the same period in 2019, Brazil headed towards ruin. Deforestation is increasing rapidly and is likely to result in intense fires in this Amazon biome. Brazilian Amazon hit a 13-year high in June 2020. The Amazons were detected to receive 6,803 outbreaks of fires in July 2020, about 28% more than the same period in 2019.
With Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Assam bearing the brunt, India is faced with fire calamities on top of water shortages apparent from the past few decades. Baghjan, Assam is an example of human-driven accidental blowout of natural gas in an oil well causing massive fires. With devastating impact on environment in and around the nearby Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, mass evacuation of locals, deterioration in human health, and continuing fires in September 2020 – months after the fire began – Baghjan area has reduced to a desolate crater as opposed to the pristine ecosystem it once represented.
Kashmir valley also witnessed raging fires in 2021-22, particularly around the Dachigam National Park. Even though rescue teams and firefighters were sent to contain the blaze, a wealth of its ecosystem had been burnt to ground when the fire finally fizzed out. This is quite alarming, given the National Park is home to unique and diverse habitats, many of which are endangered.

Factors Responsible for Massive Wildfires
As per reports from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), factors responsible for increased incidence of wildfires are persistent hotter and drier weather conditions induced due to climate change, land conversion for agriculture, and pathetic forest management.

Climate change reinforces wildfires.
This is proved by the fact that fires seen today in different regions of the world are larger, more intense, and last longer than they previously used to. Unprecedented is a frequently used word nowadays when it comes to fire severity, with climate change making outliers, i.e. abnormally long fire seasons, alarmingly unpredictable. Releasing millions of tons of carbon, destroying vital ecosystems, decimating biodiversity, threatening property and livelihoods, impacting economies and people, and causing severe long-term health problems for millions around the world are drastic outcomes of unprecedented wildfires.
Devastation is imminent. People, climate, and our planet will suffer if such wildfires continue. To cite an example, there are an estimated 340,000 premature deaths – every year – from respiratory and cardiovascular issues associated with wildfire smoke.

Estimates from Previous Decades
Based on global records from 2000 – 2015, 85% of the surface area burned each year is located in tropical savannas, making up 19% of the total land cover. Although forests constitute just about 10% of the total area burned, yet their higher carbon storage capacity holds responsibility for one-quarter of all fire-related carbon dioxide emissions. It has been observed that from 1979 to 2013, the global fire season length increased on an average by 19%. East Africa and Brazil usually undergo severe damages, with their forests and savannas experiencing an average of over one month increase in the fire season.

Forests and Negligent Human Pursuits
Human activity, intentional or otherwise, is estimated to be responsible for 75% of all wildfires in recent years. In the Northern Hemisphere, most fires are due to negligence, such as industrial accidents, burning rubbish and debris, and agricultural overspill. Arson is also to blame at times. In Europe, negligence causes 95% of fires, while in the US, 84% of fires are caused by the same.
Use of slash and burn techniques, especially in South-east Asia and Africa, controlled fires for clearing ground for palm oil plantations in Indonesia, and increased encroachment into public and Indigenous Peoples’ lands in Brazil are some human interference that lead to huge uncontrollable wildfires. And unbearably in the end, wildland-urban interfaces suffer the most in the face of forest fires.
Kashmir, too, has been traumatized by unnecessary human interference. Hauling illegal timber, charcoal, as well as use of slash and burn, has been observed in the mixed forest ecosystem of our Valley, particularly in the upper reaches, where fire and rescue is even more difficult.

What Has To Be Done
Forests are treasures of nature. It may not be the first time you’ve read about protecting forests or sustainable cultivation but today the need to revise this information is more than ever.

1. With a young world population of nearly 2 billion, requirement for preservation of biodiversity, both fauna and flora, has exceeded prior commitments. It has given rise to a now or never situation. So, we need to raise climate change ambition worldwide, and improve Paris Agreement accounting for emissions from non-anthropogenic (non human-driven) fires.
2. Halting deforestation, reinvesting in prevention, clarifying governance, coordinating policies, and using a science-based approach to risk assessment and intervention are some important ideas to consider while planning.
3. Bringing businesses on board while advertising importance of forest ecosystems and the need for fire prevention is another important initiative that needs sufficient screen-time.
4. Wildfires are a global problem and need to be prioritized in public and health policy.

Massive forest fires destroy entire ecosystems, razing everything to ground (PC: forestfiresupportgroup.org)