UN warns 14% increase in wildfires by 2030

UN warns 14% increase in wildfires by 2030.

The United Nations Environment Programme said on Wednesday that the number of wildfires globally may grow 14 per cent by 2030 and 50 per cent by 2100.

It called on the international community to focus on preventative rather than response measures.

The finding was made in a report prepared jointly with the GRID-Arendal climate non-profit ahead of the UN Environment Assembly later this month.

“Climate change and land-use change are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 per cent by 2030.

“About 30 per cent by the end of 2050 and 50 per cent by the end of the century,’’ the UN agency said.

It called on governments to shift their investments from reaction and response to prevention and preparedness.

“The publication calls on governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula’, with two-thirds of spending devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness, and recovery, with one third left for a response.

“Currently, direct responses to wildfires typically receive over half of the related expenditures, while planning receives less than one per cent,’’ the press release, accompanying the report, read.

Apart from being devastating disasters, wildfires affect the world’s poorest nations, as the restoration of affected areas may lie beyond the means of low-income countries, with waste requiring appropriate disposal.