UN warning: Forest fires and climate change feed each other | He warned of the possibility of more devastating events

The United Nations (UN) warned that the possibility of Forest fires that destroys enormous surfaces Between 31 and 52 percent this century.

According to a report presented by the international organization and the Center for Environmental Studies GRID-Arendal, the fires – whether natural or provocative – It is not directly caused by global warmingbut Usually due to severe and increasingly prolonged droughts.

Even if the most ambitious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are fulfilled, the planet will experience a significant increase in the frequency of conditions that favor intense fires.

The report confirms that Even if global temperature rise is reduced at +2 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era – the main objective of the Paris Agreements – The number of catastrophic fires will increase between 9 and 14 percent until 2030, between 20 and 33 percent until 2050 and between 31 and 52 percent until 2100.

With the new weather conditions, these unusual events will “slightly increase the likelihood of them occurring,” explained one of the report’s authors, Andrew Sullivan of Australia’s CSIRO, at a press conference.

The case of the Pantanal

One of the cases analyzed in the study was 2020 Pantanal Fire South America, the largest wetland on the planet, is located between Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.

The area had been experiencing severe drought since 2019, and exceptional fires broke out the following year, causing the loss of nearly 4 million hectares by August 2021.

Forest fires and climate change feed off each other.the text asserts and notes that fires degrade soils, temporarily cause carbon dioxide emissions, and stop forests from fulfilling their mission of carbon sequestration.

Specialists pointed out that For fire prevention “we must clean bushes regularly and support and strengthen emergency teams, such as firefighters”.

“We must minimize fire risks by doing better: investing more in risk reduction, working with local communities, and strengthening global commitments against climate change,” explained UNEP Director-General Inger Andersen.