The risk of forest fires is increasing: fire departments warn of catastrophic scenarios!

The risk of forest fires is increasing: fire departments warn of catastrophic scenarios!

The risk of forest fires in Germany has increased in recent years, mainly due to rising temperatures in summer. Current fire events in Saxony and Thuringia impressively illustrate the problem, which is primarily due to the precipitation in winter and the dryness in spring. Kai-Uwe Lohse, district fire chief in the Harz district, warns of “massive forest and vegetation fires” that cannot be ruled out in the current situation MDR reported.

A large proportion of forest fires are caused by humans – no less than 98 percent. Hanspeter Mayr, spokesman for the Saxon Switzerland National Park, highlights the dangers of outdoor fires. Michael Müller, professor of forest protection at the TU Dresden, adds that no forest burns on its own; it is the people who make the situation dangerous. What is particularly worrying is that drought is being exacerbated by climate change, although spontaneous combustion at at least 300 degrees Celsius is required to start fires.

Massive challenges for the emergency services

Fire departments have learned from bitter experience in recent years and have significantly improved their fire monitoring methods and alarm technology. Nevertheless, the Saxony State Fire Brigade Association is struggling with a shortage of materials: the costs for necessary equipment such as forest fire engines and tank fire engines have skyrocketed. Helicopters suitable for firefighting are in the process of being procured, but there is still a lot of catching up to do here MDR reported.

The challenge is further exacerbated by climate change. Weather extremes such as storms and heavy rain events are expected more frequently in the forecasts, which also increases the risk of forest fires, as an analysis by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows. A global warming scenario could be as high as 5.4 degrees Celsius by 2100 - a condition that can further fuel fire dangers, like waldwissen.net mentioned.

Looking back on past years

The number of forest fires in Germany decreased between 1991 and 2017, but there was a sharp increase in 2018 and 2019 due to extreme drought, especially in the northeastern federal states. In 2018, 1,708 fires were recorded, affecting 2,349 hectares of forest. Brandenburg posed the greatest challenge with 512 fires and 1,674 hectares. During the disaster in 2019, over 3,000 emergency services had to be mobilized, which shows the significant weaknesses in forest fire prevention and fighting, as the data from the Federal Environment Agency clarify.

Despite the challenges, Germany is doing well in an international comparison; The country is one of the pioneers in forest fire monitoring. The existing system has shown a positive trend in recent decades, although the outlook remains rather challenging. Continuous improvement of systems and training of emergency services are essential in order to be able to respond better to increasing threats in the future.