Forest Fires

Summer heatwave triggers devastating forest fires across southwest Europe

It is the second heatwave engulfing parts of southwest Europe in weeks as scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather

Watch | IFS officer shares glimpses of challenges posed by forest fires in hilly terrains

As per statistics by the Forest Survey of India, Maharashtra is one of the leading forest fire-prone states with the number of incidents doubling from 22,499 in 2019 to 44,809 in 2021

Aftermath of wildfires changes the habitat and can impact wildlife in both good and bad ways

Mice, squirrels and other burrowing animals dig into cooler ground, bears climb trees, deer and bobcats run, small animals take cover in logs and birds fly to escape the flames, heat and smoke.

Wildfires emitted record levels of more than 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 in July and August alone

Even the Arctic Circle was on fire, releasing some 66 million tonnes of CO2 from June through August, with nearly a billion tonnes from Russia as a whole over the same period.

In India, as incidence of forest fires spikes in the pandemic, inhabitants lose their sole source of livelihood

Increasing fire trends can be seen in data as well with the Forest Survey of India (FSI)’s system sending fire alerts 3,86,031 times this year, till 28 May 2021, which is already twice the number of alerts sent in all of last year.

Brazil's Amazon forest released more CO2 than it absorbed over the last decade: Study

If the region were to become a source of CO2 rather than a "sink", tackling the climate crisis will be that much harder.

Dry winters, climate change causes Nepal to experience worst wildfires in a decade

More than 2,700 wildfires have been reported in Nepal since November, 14 times higher than in the same period last year.

Stronger, frequent forest fires effecting tree's carbon sink capabilities: Study

Researchers said there were 63 percent fewer trees in hard-hit regions compared to areas untouched by fires.

Peatlands keep a lot of carbon out of Earth's atmosphere, but that could end with warming and development

Although they only occupy three percent of the global land area, peatlands contain about 25 percent of global soil carbon — twice as much as the world’s forests.

2021 should be the year humanity stops it war on nature pleads UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres

A new analysis by Climate Action Tracker scientists said public commitments to emission cuts if kept, would limit warming to about 2.6 degrees Celsius and possibly as low as 2.1 degrees Celsius.