Climate change is pushing Canada to the brink: wildfires out of control!

Climate change is pushing Canada to the brink: wildfires out of control!

On Monday, firefighters in Canada battled more than 220 wildfires that have collectively destroyed nearly four million hectares of land. Despite efforts, 90 of these fires have not been brought under control so far. However, the situation has eased somewhat due to falling temperatures. However, experts fear a bad forest fire season as the area burned is already larger than in previous years at this time. This warning comes from Marc-André Parisien, a Canadian Forest Service official who has seen an increase in wildfires in coastal areas such as Squamish. Source Kleine Zeitung further reports that the devastating fires are primarily attributed to the changing climate, which results in longer periods of heat and drought.

The current forest fires in Canada are among the most devastating in the country's history. So far, more than 15 million hectares of land have been destroyed, more than double the worst year in 1995, when 7 million hectares went up in flames. Tens of thousands of people have had to leave their homes and the fires are generating so much energy that they often burn beyond the control threshold. In this context, forestry scientist Alexander Held speaks of a “new quality” of fires that makes it more difficult to combat them effectively. This development is, among other things, the result of inadequate forestry, which is characterized by monocultures and little mixing, as well as climate change. The Tagesschau also highlights the situation and warns of the associated health risks from fine dust, especially after reports of poor air quality in Montreal, which was among the worst in the world in June.

Causes and consequences

The direct fire emissions are alarming: around 290 megatons of CO2 have already been released by the fires in 2023. While wildfires are usually carbon sinks, they are turning into sources of CO2. In British Columbia, wildfires in recent years have emitted more CO2 than all the fossil fuels burned by people and industry. This is vividly illustrated in a report by CTIF, which points out that the 2023 wildfire season broke records, with 327 megatons Carbon emissions by the end of August. In the Northwest Territories, the fires resulted in CO2 emissions 277 times higher than human activity in a year.

The problem of forest fires is made even more complicated by their interactions with climate change. Experts agree that prolonged droughts and higher temperatures increase the risk of fire. As a possible solution, it is recommended to restructure the forests to include more mixed forest and broadleaf trees. Additionally, targeted management strategies, including controlled fires in the spring, could help prevent larger fires in the summer. However, according to Tagesschau, such prevention measures are often controversial and rejected in many countries.