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Forest fires have caused extreme devastation in Canada in the past number of years. From the emotional damage to the material destruction as communities such as Jasper, Lytton and Fort McMurray have been engulfed in flames, to the incredible loss of forest cover, ground cover, ecosystem services, and habitat for wildlife.
Our warming climate, caused by fossil fuels emissions, is making the conditions more ripe for forest fires to start, and harder for them to be extinguished. Yes, there have always been forest fires. But because of these conditions, forest fires are causing so much more damage.
Communities are adapting and preparing, firefighters are putting their lives on the line, medical professionals are treating patients for smoke-related ailments, people are rebuilding their homes and their livelihoods, animals and insects are searching for new homes and sources of food. Enormous impacts, with significant effects on ecosystems, health and the economy.
What causes forest fires?
Whether ignited by lightning strikes or human activity, forest fires will catch and spread more easily in a forest that has been experiencing drier and hotter conditions. The milder winters and hotter springs in much of Canada recently have made drought-like conditions more common in many areas. They have also allowed certain insects (which were once kept in check by the cold) to flourish in our mild winters and kill tremendous amounts of trees, thus creating more kindling to fuel wildfires.
In 2023, the unusually hot temperatures and low precipitation in much of Canada fuelled the intense forest fires that year, during which Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories all experienced record high tree cover loss due to fires.
The World Resources Institute reported that Canada’s tree cover loss accounted for more than a quarter of all tree cover loss globally in 2023.
How is climate change making forest fires more intense?
The emissions from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) have increased the greenhouse gas effect to trap heat inside our atmosphere, warming our planet at unprecedented rates. Global warming is altering global weather patterns and conditions in different ways across the world. In parts of Canada, and many other northern countries, temperatures are warming at rates that are roughly double the global average.
Hotter, drier weather for extended periods creates conditions for fires to catch more easily and spread more rapidly. And lightning strikes are more common in a hotter climate. Because of climate change, Canadians are dealing with wildfire seasons that are starting earlier, ending later (sometimes still smouldering in the winter), and are harder to contain.
But here’s the really awful thing about this devastation to our forests... Climate change is making forest fire seasons worse, but forest fires are also making climate change worse. Our trees help to capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it as they grow. When they burn, they emit that carbon back into the atmosphere, further contributing to the greenhouse gas effect and global warming. It’s called a positive feedback loop (but in this case it’s not a good thing 😕).
What can be done about forest fires?
Unfortunately, this is a tough one. There are things that can be done at the forest level (better forest management to lower the risk of spread) or on the home-front (better fire-proofing homes and buildings). But climate change is making forest fire seasons worse and they will keep getting worse until we stop burning fossil fuels. If we want to stop them from getting worse, our governments must take action to reduce emissions from fossil fuels, starting with capping emissions from the oil and gas sector.
Canada may have a small population, but we are among the world’s top polluters per capita, and our emissions have not dropped like those of other G7 countries. The whole world needs to act more urgently on climate change, and Canada has an important role to play.
There are costs to inaction – this is one of them. We all breathe. We are all vulnerable to the impacts of forest fires, near and far. And to the increasingly significant impacts of climate change. Enough’s enough. We must transition our economy and our societies away from fossil fuels.