Europe’s Wildfire Crisis

Context

Wildfires are an increasingly global issue fueled by climate change, climate whiplash, climate-induced fire clouds and land use changes, as is happening in Europe.

Key Highlights

• Forest fires in countries like Greece, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy and Croatia have been massive, causing large-scale evacuations, ecosystem destruction and significant economic losses. 
• These fires are believed to no longer be natural and random events but more a consequence of climate change, extreme weather variability and unsustainable land use. 
• The crisis also provides valuable lessons to countries such as India where forest fires are increasing in frequency as a result of rising temperatures and human activities.
• Thousands of hectares have been burnt across southern Europe by wildfires.
• The evacuation of the population was the biggest peacetime wildfire evacuation in France.
• In recent fires, more than 1,70,000 hectares of forest have been lost in Spain.
• The impact of climate change is accelerating the occurrence of extreme wildfire events all over the world.

What’s Making European Wildfires Worse?

• Climate Change Intensifying Heatwaves
  • As global temperatures have risen, so has the incidence of heatwaves of longer duration.
  • The hot weather dries forests, grasslands and vegetation, making them very flammable.
  • An extended dry period provides favorable conditions for big fires.
• Climate Whiplash
• Climate whiplash: Sudden change from extreme weather conditions to the other.
  • Wet conditions promote rapid growth of grasses and shrubs.
  • This vegetation quickly dries out with successive heatwaves.
  • Dry biomass fuels provide plenty of fuel in the system, which fuels the fast spread of flames.
  • These sudden climate changes are becoming more frequent with climate change.
• Formation of Fire Clouds (Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds)
• The most critical change is the formation of pyrocumulonimbus (PyroCb) clouds.
  • Strong fires produce a lot of heat which propels smoke and moisture into the air.
  • These build up into tall thunderstorm clouds that can produce:
    • New fires caused by lightning.
    • A strong, erratic wind that can rapidly shift direction in which fire moves.
    • Fire weather systems that are self-sustaining.
  • Such “sixth-generation wildfires” become extremely difficult to control.
• Land-Use Changes
  • A decline in rural population has led to a decrease in farming and grazing by livestock.
  • The abandoned farmland is now vegetated with dense shrubs and dry vegetation.
  • Continuous fuel loads enable fires to burn over a much wider area.

Impacts of Europe’s Wildfires

• Environmental

  • Massive biodiversity loss.
  • Loss of habitat for wildlife.
  • Rising CO2 emissions, climatic change worsening.
  • Soil degradation and damage to the ecosystem.

• Economic

  • Damage to buildings and roads.
  • Heavy losses to tourism and agriculture.
  • Increasing disaster management and restoration expenses.
  • Wildfires cause losses to the European Union of approximately €2.5 billion per year.

• Social

  • Major evacuations and uprooting.
  • Health effects of air pollution from smoke.
  • Increased risk to firefighters and emergency responders.

Wildfire Scenario in India

• India has also been encountering growing risks from wildfires, especially during the dry season.
• Major Vulnerable Regions
  • Northeast India
  • Odisha
  • Chhattisgarh
  • Uttarakhand
  • Himachal Pradesh
• Central and southern India is the region where the plains of this type are found.
• Key Difference from Europe
  • The majority of forest fires in Europe are caused by lightning.
  • Mostly they are associated with human activity in India, such as:
    • Agricultural burning
    • Gathering of forest products
    • When fire sources are not disposed of carefully.
    • Deliberate burning

Way Forward

• Improve the resilience of climate and wildfire.
• Encourage scientific forest and landscape management.
• Re-establish and promote mixed native vegetation on degraded forests.
• Enhance early warning systems with satellite monitoring and fire prediction by AI.
• Involve communities more in forest protection.
• Formulate measures for Disaster Management in relation to Climate Change.
• Enhance international collaboration in research and management of wildfire.

Conclusion

• The wildfire in Europe illustrates the growing complexity of natural hazards into natural disasters as a result of climate change. 
• Wildfires are growing in size, speed, and intensity because of temperature increases, climate “whiplash,” and shifting land uses and fire-induced weather patterns. 
• The message for India is what it has been for other countries: stopping forest degradation, enhancing scientific forest management and boosting climate resilience are national priorities that will help mitigate future threats from wildfire.

Source: The Indian Express

Mains PYQ

Q. Most of the unusual climatic happenings are explained as an outcome of the El-Nino effect. Do you agree? (2014)

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