Canberra, Nov 27, : According to a report from Australia’s national science agency, climate change is a “overwhelming” factor in the rise in bushfires in Australia. According to Xinhua news agency, Friday’s analysis of bushfire activity in 324,000 kilometres of forest by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization CSIRO published a report on Friday.
According to the report, the average area burned each year was 800% higher in 2002 and 2019 than it was in 1988 and 2001.
The average area of burned land has increased tenfold since 1988.
The report found that while factors such as vegetation, time since the last fire, and hazard burning reduction have an impact on the intensity of fires, climate change is the dominant factor in the increase in frequency or intensity since 1988.
Three of the four “megafires”, which are bushfires that have burned more than 1,000,000 hectares in Australia, have occurred since 2000.
Pep Canadell, CSIRO scientist, said that it was one the largest studies of its kind.
“In Australia, fire frequency is increasing rapidly in certain areas.
There are now regions in the southeast or south with fire intervals less than 20 years.This is important because it means that some types of vegetation won’t reach maturity, which could put ecosystems at danger,” he stated in a media release.
“The results also suggest that forest megafires will continue to occur under future climate change projections.”
The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements was established in the wake the 2019 Black Summer bushfires.It found that fuel-load management by hazard reduction burning may not have an “appreciable effect” under “extreme climate conditions” due to climate change.
The CSIRO report confirmed that finding, and questioned the viability native forest logging for fire management.
Canadell stated that “this is happening regardless what we might or might not try to stop it,” Nine Entertainment newspapers reported.
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