It seems we are experiencing the effects of climate change more than ever. Increasing heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding are causing problems on every continent. According to earth scientist Sander Veraverbeke, the strong link between climate change and the rise of wildfires is undeniable. But does this apply to every region? And why does our ecosystem actually need wildfires? Sander explains.
How do wildfires contribute to climate change?
"Climate change is causing the frequency of fire-prone weather, also known as 'fire weather,' to increase worldwide. This includes dry and hot weather with strong winds, which can lead to rapid fire ignition and easy spread."
"Furthermore, these wildfires themselves have an impact on our climate, primarily due to the CO2 they emit. This is especially true for wildfires in northern regions such as Canada, Siberia, and Alaska, which I am currently analysing. We are witnessing an increasing occurrence of wildfires in these areas."
Why aren't wildfires necessarily bad?
"In every ecosystem on Earth, it is natural for wildfires to occur as a result of a dry season. These fires also promote diversity within the ecosystem. In Canada, for example, you can find forests of various ages. Some forests are ten years old, while others are fifty or even one hundred and fifty years old. Each forest attracts different species of animals and plants. Even in Europe we need wildfires. In Mediterranean regions it's quite normal that a wildfire appears every twenty to thirty years.
"During a normal fire cycle, the net CO2 emissions are zero. Although a fire emits CO2, the natural area absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere as it regrows. This applies to grasslands in the African savannah as well as forests in Europe. In the case of large forests, it may take decades for everything to regrow, but in the end, a normal fire cycle does not result in additional emissions. It becomes problematic when the number of wildfires increases, when the ecosystem does not recover well after a fire, or when fires occur in areas where they are not customary."
Wildfires were often in the news this summer. How do you view these fires? Can you explain them?
"Due to climate change, weather conditions conducive to wildfires are increasing. However, that doesn't mean that wildfires will occur everywhere in the world or that the climate impact will be the same everywhere. I want to distinguish between two types of impact here: societal impact and climate impact. While they are related, they are two different things. The wildfires that make headlines are mainly associated with significant societal impact, causing casualties, air pollution, and evacuations. We saw this in Greece, where migrants lost their lives, and in Rhodes, where many tourists were present."
"In the Canadian forests, it's primarily the climate impact that is significant. Fires in this region can become very large, sometimes as large as a Dutch province. Moreover, these fires emit a substantial amount of CO2 due to the organic soil containing layers of leaves and even permafrost with significant carbon storage. This year has been a record-breaking wildfire year for Canada, which truly astonishes me. From the west to the east of the country, wildfires have been raging since spring. Even in Quebec, where wildfires are very unusual, we now see forests burning. Similar records are being broken in other northern areas like Siberia in 2019, 2020, and 2021."
What can we do to mitigate the effects of wildfires?
"In most cases, humans are the cause of wildfires. This presents a positive aspect of the story in that we can exert some degree of control. Prevention at both the local and regional levels is essential to limit the damage caused by wildfires. One option is to design the landscape in such a way that wildfires cannot spread uncontrollably. This can be achieved by creating firebreaks between different natural areas, preventing fires from spreading to nearby areas. Another option is to introduce moisture-retaining broadleaf trees into naturally dry coniferous forests, which could serve as a potential solution in the Netherlands."
"Furthermore, timely firefighting is crucial. When wildfires reach a certain size, they can no longer be extinguished. Take, for example, the current fires in Canada, which have been burning for an entire season and will only be extinguished when the autumn rains arrive. But even in Canada and other sparsely populated northern regions, it's possible to extinguish fires in a timely manner. Satellite data can precisely identify where lightning has struck and where fires have ignited."
"I am personally involved in a consortium led by the National Institute for Public Safety (NIPV) to put wildfire prevention on the agenda in the Netherlands. I am pleased that in this way, I can contribute not only to creating new knowledge but also to actively thinking about how we can minimize the negative consequences of wildfires close to home. Our goal is to allocate sufficient resources in the Netherlands to manage wildfires and ensure that scientific findings are put into practice."