Wildfires in Canada have reached alarming proportions, with the fire season still in its beginning, leaving experts worried about the scenario. The situation has worsened so much that the smoke resulting from the fires has already reached Europe, raising global concern about the climate crisis.
The forest fire situation has also reached critical levels in Greece, where several regions are facing devastating blazes. The Greek Prime Minister, in a statement, compared the severity of the fires to war, underscoring the urgency of concrete actions to face the climate crisis.
The extent of the fires in Canada, for example, is so great that the dense smoke generated reached Europe, affecting mainly countries in the north of the continent. Cities such as London, Paris and Berlin recorded a significant deterioration in air quality due to the presence of harmful particles and gases from the Canadian fires.
In Greece, thousands of hectares of forests and natural areas have already been consumed by flames in different parts of the country. One of the most dramatic cases took place on a single island, where around 19,000 people were evacuated to ensure their safety in the face of rapidly spreading fires.
Against this background, climate change is not a new phenomenon. The Earth has gone through numerous warming periods. About 92 million years ago, for example, temperatures were so high that the north and south poles lacked ice caps, and crocodile-like animals lived in Canada's arctic region.
The incidence of forest fires in Canada and Greece are just a few examples of the global scenario regarding climate change and its impacts. Rising temperatures, extreme heat waves and decreasing rainfall have created favorable conditions for the rapid spread of fire in many parts of the world.
Furthermore, the number of weather-related disasters has increased dramatically over the past 50 years: extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, floods and forest fires are frequent and intense, causing enormous economic damage and human losses.
The analysis of climate records over thousands of years reveals a remarkable stability in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. For approximately 800,000 years, CO2 levels remained below 300 parts per million – ppm. However, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, this scenario has changed dramatically, and CO2 levels have skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, currently reaching 420 ppm.
Historically, the Industrial Revolution brought with it a significant increase in industrial activities, use of fossil fuels and deforestation, which resulted in large amounts of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. These gases, especially CO2, create a "roof" around the planet, trapping the sun's heat and contributing to global warming.
In view of the above, the key UN report, published in 2021, unequivocally stated: “It is indisputable that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land”; And based on this overwhelming evidence, the importance of taking urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change is more crucial than ever. Consequently, awareness and collective action are key to ensuring a sustainable future for future generations and for the balance of the planet.
