Fires in Australia, California and Siberia: “The consequences are devastating”

La Croix: 138,000 hectares destroyed in California, 240,000 displaced, 20% of Australian forests destroyed by worst fires, 56 million tonnes of CO₂ Released into the atmosphere due to the fire in Siberia: Are these three areas burning for the same reasons?

Dominic Morvan : In each of these three regions, significant climate change caused the island. Decreased rainfall, increasingly extended fire season, as well as a decline in agricultural activity are all noticed. Biomass spreads considerably in abandoned land, but this organic matter feeds fires and makes them more virulent.

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But each of these ecosystems is specific, so the effects of this fire vary from region to region. In Siberia, the population is denser than in the regions California : So there are less fires for human reasons. In California, as well as in the southeastern part of Australia, due to the power grid, many of the gases in the air that unravel the power cables catch fire, triggering a fire when they hit the ground.

Boreal areas such as Siberia are characterized by high arid thunderstorms. Winter cuts are shorter and shorter and the environment is more vulnerable to dry pests as they become more flammable. Pest infestation and drought kill trees in boreal forests, which are then more susceptible to fire.

Can this fire be contained?

D.M. : When we approach the virus of fire, we are connected to the weather conditions on the one hand about a triangle, the second to the land surface and the last to biodegradable. The higher the wind, the higher the temperature, the sloping terrain and the more biological material grown, the more severe the fire will be.

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At these three points, man can only act last. To minimize risks, brush as much as possible with the recommended burn or, if only a small area is concerned, with mechanical equipment. You can also use chemicals, but of course these can have effects on the environment.

The fight against fire requires enormous mechanisms, for example, policy Russia Act only when homes are threatened. That is why she allows Siberia to burn like this. However, the soil in the area is characterized by the presence of charcoal, where fire is particularly dangerous, and therefore does not degrade or degrade due to the very high content of organic matter. When it burns, its burning particles fly long distances, spreading fire and causing great harm to our respiratory systems.

These are Fire events Do they have to breed every year?

D.M. : Each of these three zones has always had known fires, but their intensity and their consequences are becoming catastrophic. They cause more deaths, and they destroy more buildings. My main concern is that the areas that have already been used for fire are living very cruelly, the unaffected ones are starting to have them, while the plants and animals are not being used for it.

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Globally, the average temperature is rising and rainfall is decreasing, so things are not likely to get better by themselves. Each year no longer qualifies as a disaster. Every disaster is worse than the last.