Wildfires destroy 82 million hectares of forest worldwide in 10 years
ANKARA (AA) – Forest fires have destroyed about 82 million hectares of forest worldwide in the last 10 years.
According to Global Forest Watch (GFW), the worst forest fires occurred in Australia, Russia, Canada, and the U.S.
In Australia, the 2019-2020 bushfires were the largest in the last 10 years, destroying more than 24 million hectares of forest land.
According to the open-source forest monitoring web application, Russia lost 18 million hectares of forest land due to wildfire in 2021.
In the U.S., wildfires destroyed more than 1.7 million hectares of forest land in 2020.
The report also notes that the number of wildfires and the amount of forest land destroyed by wildfires have increased in recent years.
This is due to several factors, including climate change, deforestation, and human activities.
The report calls for reducing deforestation, managing forests more sustainably, and improving early warning systems.
According to data released by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC), the wildfires that broke out in May 2023 and are still burning in Canada are already among the largest wildfires of the last 10 years.
In Canada, where approximately 7.6 million hectares (18.78 million acres) of forestland burned during the entire wildfire season from April to September in 1989, more than 10 million hectares (24.71 million acres) of forestland have been destroyed this year, even though the country is still in the middle of the fire season.
While more than 155,000 people in Canada have had to evacuate their homes due to fire and smoke so far this year, the smoke from the fires has reached many cities in the US, particularly New York, and has negatively affected life.
The US, which witnesses wildfires every year, especially in California, experienced the largest wildfire in the last 10 years in 2020.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported that more than 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) were burned in wildfires in the state during the 2020 fire season.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
