Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 martyrs arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli massacre of al-Sultan Family north of Gaza.

World must brace for 30% more wildfires by 2050: UN

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Feb 2022 13:28
3 Min Read

The Earth is facing a more extreme wave of wildfires as the planet's temperature keeps rising.

  • x
  • World must brace for more extreme wildfires: UN
    The world must brace for more extreme wildfires: UN

The UN warned Wednesday that the number of big wildfires will climb substantially in the coming decades as a result of global warming, and governments will be unprepared for the death and destruction such mega-fires leave in their wake.

According to a UN assessment comprising more than 50 international researchers, the escalating climate crisis and land-use change are driving a global increase in catastrophic wildfires, with a 14 percent increase expected by 2030 and a 30 percent increase by 2050.

"By the end of the century, the probability of wildfire events similar to Australia's 2019–2020 Black Summer or the huge Arctic fires in 2020 occurring in a given year is likely to increase by 31–57 percent," it said.

Landscapes are becoming tinderboxes as the earth warms, and more extreme weather means stronger, hotter, and drier winds to stoke the fires. 

Wildfires are raging where they have always raged, as well as in unexpected areas like thawing permafrost and drying peatlands.

"Fires are not good things," said co-author Peter, an expert in forest fire management at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"The impacts on people -- socially, health-wise, psychologically -- are phenomenal and long-term," he told journalists in a briefing.

See more: Climate change highlights global inequality

 

Related News

US, China to resume talks in Madrid; tariffs, TikTok on agenda

China warns Philippines against provocations in South China Sea

Large wildfires, which can burn for days or weeks without being put out, can cause respiratory and cardiac difficulties, especially in the old and young.

According to a recent study published in The Lancet, wildfire smoke causes more than 30,000 deaths per year on average in 43 countries for which data was available.

According to an assessment, economic damages in the United States resulting from these fires has ranged from $71 to $348 billion (63 to 307 billion euros) in previous years.

Climate change exacerbates wildfires

Major fires may be damaging to animals, bringing some vulnerable species dangerously near to extinction.

According to scientists, about three billion mammals, reptiles, birds, and frogs were killed or injured by Australia's deadly 2019-20 bushfires.

In the previous three years, extreme heat, drought, and decreasing soil moisture, all exacerbated by global warming, have contributed to unprecedented fires in the western United States, Australia, and the Mediterranean basin.

Even the Arctic, which was historically fire-free, has seen a major spike in blazes, including so-called "zombie fires," which smolder underground all winter before re-igniting.

However, wildfires hasten climate change, perpetuating a vicious cycle of more fires and rising temperatures.

Read more: Lightning in the North Pole alarms scientists

 

According to the European Union's Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), forests that went up in flames generated more than 2.5 billion tonnes of planet-warming CO2 in just July and August last year, which is similar to India's annual emissions from all sources.

Compiled by 50 leading experts, the report called for a rethink on how to approach the problem.

"Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong places," investing in managing fires once they start rather than prevention and risk reduction, said UN Environment chief Inger Andersen. "We have to minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being prepared."

  • United States
  • global warming
  • United Nations
  • wildfires
STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Israeli police and rescue teams respond at the scene of a shooting attack where several people killed and injured in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 (AP)

Al-Quds shooting: 7 settlers killed, several critically injured

  • Politics
  • 8 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

Pro-'Israel' far-right Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' stops unfunded diplomacy ahead of UN, October 7 memorial

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares over the Gaza Strip, is seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

OIC summit draft: Israeli attack on Qatar risks normalization

People shout slogans and hold Palestinian flags while protesting during the twenty-first stage of La Vuelta cycling race from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP)
Sports

Pro-Palestine protests force abrupt end to Vuelta a España finale

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime faces growing isolation over Qatar strike: Reports

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS