Why Are Forest Fires Occurring More Frequently?
It’s not hard to notice the increasing frequency of forest fires. The Australian bushfires of 2019–20 dominated the headlines pre-coronavirus and the Brazilian rainforest has suffered a 13% increase in fires for the first 9 months of this year compared to the last.
On top of all that, the wildfires in California this August expanded to such an extent that it became the first recorded ‘gigafire’ in modern history, stretching to over 1m acres, an area bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
What causes wildfires?
Wildfires can be started by lightning strikes but are also commonly caused by malfunctioning equipment, downed power lines and man-made fires such as campfires, burning debris, arson or discarded cigarettes. When these fires are lit in areas where the sparks can reach dry vegetation, the flame can spread rapidly through the combustible materials…
