The world is not prepared for the increasing danger of forest fires caused by climate change. Scientists are warning about this, and currently the flames have covered areas from North America to Europe in the hottest year in history, writes Euractiv.
Wildfires have already scorched areas in Turkey, Greece, Canada and the United States earlier this season as extreme heat waves raise temperatures to scorching highs.
While additional resources have been put into improving firefighting efforts in recent years, experts say the same is not true of planning and preparing for such disasters.
"We're actually still catching up," said Stefan Doerr, director of the Center for Forest Fire Research at Britain's Swansea University.
Predicting how strong any fire will be, where and when it will break out is a complex process, with many factors, including local weather conditions, playing a role in the calculations.
"But in general, wildfires are getting bigger and causing more damage," adds Doerr, who co-authored a recent paper examining the frequency and intensity of such extreme events.
A separate study published in June found that the frequency and scale of extreme wildfires has doubled over the past 20 years.
By the end of the century, the number of extreme forest fires worldwide is expected to increase by 50 percent, according to a 2022 report by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Doerr said humanity has yet to face that reality.
"Obviously we are not well enough prepared for the situation. Climate change is a major driver of wildfires, although other factors also play a large role. But the big takeaway is that we can't fight fires," he says.
Joint reaction
"Fires do not respect borders, so responses have evolved between governments to jointly address these disasters," says Jesus San-Miguel, an expert at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
The EU has a strong model of resource sharing, and even countries outside the bloc along the Mediterranean have benefited from firefighting equipment or financial assistance in times of need.
But as wildfires become more extreme, putting them out simply won't be the answer.
"We're getting feedback from our civil defense colleagues who are saying, 'We can't fight the fires. Water evaporates before it reaches the ground. Prevention is something we need to work on more," San-Miguel points out.
"Controlled burns, livestock grazing or mechanized vegetation removal are effective ways of limiting the amount of fuel material found in forests. Campfire bans and the construction of roads as firebreaks can be effective in reducing the risk of ignition and minimizing its spread," said Rory Haddon of the University of Edinburgh.
But such efforts require funding and planning by authorities, who may have other priorities and limited budgets, and the returns are not always immediately apparent.
“Whatever method or technique you use, the positive outcome of this investment is that nothing happens. It's very strange from a psychological point of view," adds Haddon.