He climate change It is a problem that recursively manifests itself in our daily life, with causes and consequences varied that do nothing more than reconfirm the level of gravity reached. In that framework, the forest fires appear as a drama that, particularly in ArgentinaIt is advancing at a worrying rate. In the last days, the Iberá Wetlandsin the province of currents -a wetland of more than 10,000 square kilometers-, and the Los Alerces National Park, in Chubutwere the sources of fires that devastated thousands of hectares.
The biologist and Vice Minister of Environment of the Nation, Sergio Federovskyspoke with infobae and described the situation in both parts of the country. “We collected evidence and testimonies indicating that, in both cases and mainly in Chubut, the fires were started from intentional way. Today, in Argentina it is technically forbidden to use fire, even for issues that are usually used. Lighting a fire there is a criminal act.”
Secondly, Federovisky explained: “In the Chubut Court, we filed a request to investigate whether the fire was indeed intentional. A nationwide fire emergency declaration is in effect. There are a huge number of provinces that have assumed this responsibility and have prohibited the use of fire in this context of such an adverse climate crisis.”
For the next few days, the prognosis for both Chubut and Corrientes “is not good,” according to the vice minister. Because? “Because we are with high temperatures and, also, in the context of drought which has been going on for practically four uninterrupted years not only results in the temporary absence of rain, but also the vegetation carries a water stress that means that any fire can spread quickly and violently”.
In relation to this kind of problem, science has a lot to contribute. Recently, a group of experts from the University of Nanjing, in China, postulated that the impact of the smoke generated by large forest fires can increase and feed back the intensity of the fire. Thus, an expansive effect is generated that can have catastrophic outcomes for nature and humanity.
In the study, which was published in the magazine Science, the scientists noted: “Extreme forest fires threaten human life, air quality and ecosystems. Here, we show the primacy of synoptic-scale feedback in driving extreme fires and find that smoke effects can modify near-surface wind, dryness, and precipitation, and thus worsen air pollution by increase fire emissions and weaken their spread”.
To arrive at these results, the researchers collected data from Earth-observing satellites and sensors. This information was fitted to a computer model that used chemical precisions and meteorological data to track changes in the air and on the ground during large wildfires. The geographic regions studied were Southeast Asia and the West Coast of the United States.
As the authors described, the soot from the fires led to the creation of a layer of smoke over the area, and around it, trapping heat and preventing sunlight from reaching the ground, there was “a situation that led to thermal instability. Due to that instability, air was sucked under the blanket of smoke, causing high-speed winds. And the wind caused drier conditions, which made the fire more intense.”
To measure and understand the seriousness of this environmental problem, infobae talked with Hernan Giardini, coordinator of Greenpeace’s Forests and Climate Change campaigns. “It is estimated that 95% of forest fires are due to human causes. We talk about intentionality, but also about accidents and negligence. When we talk about accidents, they can be poorly extinguished barbecue, cigarette butts, etc. When we refer to negligence, it has to do with burning, for example, pastures for regrowth for cattle”, he explained.
And he added: “There are also, in some cases, fires to change the use of the land for agriculture, livestock or real estate development, so many causes are human. The remaining 5% of the causes have to do with natural issues. There are many cases of storms with lightning that start a fire, but they are very few.
Another natural cause, according to Giardini, “is the La Niña phenomenon (NdelR: a natural process characterized by fluctuating ocean temperatures in the central and eastern part of the equatorial Pacific, according to the World Meteorological Organization). This phenomenon has generated a significant drought throughout South America, and this creates favorable conditions for the sources of fire to spread further and make it much more difficult to put them out.”
“It is evident that the drought has contributed to a greater surface area burned, not only of forests, but also of grasslands and wetlands. In addition, the climate crisis we are in generates high temperatures and that contributes to the drought,” added the Greenpeace specialist.
In this vein, for Giardini, “biodiversity is strongly affected, because when forests or wetlands are on fire, we are talking about the two ecosystems that concentrate the most terrestrial biodiversity: more than half of the animals, plants and insects are concentrated there . The fires completely destroy everything and generate this direct impact because many species that are in danger of extinction are lost.”
A Greenpeace report in 2023 indicates that forest and rural fires affected 120,000 hectares only in Salta and Jujuy. In Chubut, the fire spread and reached the Los Alerces National Park and Lake Cholila. The area affected there exceeds 1,400 hectares, while in Corrientes, this environmental problem has already devastated more than 30,000.
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