Climate is a “determining” factor in wildfires in Australia, according to a study

Climate change Leading “determining factor”
Wildfire According to a study by general research scientists, it is increasingly intense
Australian, Released
In review Natural, Friday, contrary to government.

In a co-reviewed study, researchers from the state-owned CSIRO looked at 90 years of data and concluded that climate change is a major factor. Mega fire like the one that devastated Australia In 2019-2020.

Eight factors are involved

Experts studied fire risk factors ranging from the amount of dead plants in the ground to humidity, weather and fire start conditions. “Although the eight factors of fire activity play a different role in influencing wildfires, climate was a determining factor in fire operations,” said Pep Kennedel, CSIRO’s head of fire research. The results of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Science Natural, November 26.

The Conservative government of Australia has repeatedly underestimated the role of climate change in the 2019-2020 fire, which devastated Australia’s southeast coast and covered large cities such as Sydney with dense, heavy smoke. Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed that wildfires are normal in Australia, pointing to forest management, especially the lack of brush removal. But the researchers’ sample analyzes failed to establish a statistical link between the fuel load and the burned area.

More than 800% of the surface was burned in twenty years

Atmospheric events such as El Niோo or La Nina may affect changes in the intensity of wildfires annually, but researchers have found that nine of the eleven years of burning more than 500,000 km2 have been caused by global warming since 2000. Accelerated. They linked these events to “more dangerous and fire-friendly weather conditions,” such as fire-generated thunderstorms and dry lightning, “all of which are associated with different levels of anthropological climate change.”

The study found that the burned area has increased by an average of 800% in the last 20 years compared to previous decades. In recent years, Australia has suffered from severe drought, wildfires and floods due to climate change. The Australian government, however, refused to set a short-term emissions reduction target and promised to be one of the largest exporters of gas and coal.