NO PLASE IS PROTECTED FROM DISASTERS AS PLANET HEATS UP
The death toll in Hawaii wildfires, the deadliest in the United States in the past century, is ticking towards 100 . the historic coastal town of lahaina in maui, one of the eight main islands that make up the archipela- go, was almost completely destroyed by a fast-moving inferno, with survivors saying there had been no warn- ings. Over the years, Hawaii has lost 1.5 million acres of native forest, which were natural water and climate regu- lators. Without them, there are bound to be disruptions in weather and temperature patterns. Climate change and forest loss are working together to make Hawaii drier and hotter, a recipe for disaster. Rising global temperatures and drought have helped turn parts of Hawaii into a tin- derbox. Nearly a fifth of Maui has experienced other serious fires in recent years, with blazes in 2018 and 2021 razing hundreds of homes and causing evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Maui’s fires follow other extreme weather events in North America this summer, with record-breaking wild- fires still burning across Canada and a major heat wave baking the US southwest. Europe and parts of Asia have also endured soaring temperatures, with major fires and floods wreaking havoc. Degraded forests and changing weather patterns combine to create perfect conditions for fires, often started by human activity, to grow into enor- mous, uncontrollable blazes. The drying out of Hawaii’s landscape is part of a trend affecting rainforests around the globe. Parts of the Amazon rainforest, the biggest in the world, are fast approaching this transition, a point of no return when the humid ecosystem would forever change. Rainforests are highly sensitive to changes in pre- cipitation. Higher temperatures, drought and changes in rain patterns stress trees, resulting in trunks drying up and leaves falling. Over decades, drought, heat, fire and deforestation can force a rainforest to transition into dry grasslands
Wildfires have been a part of life on Earth and are a critical part of the ecosystem. But it is the increasingly intense nature of the wildfires — aided by the warming weather, dry conditions and change in rain cycles — that is now becoming a source of worry. One of the big reasons for climate change is the burning of fossil fuel which releases large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, causing global warming. Extreme climate events are increasing around the world. In tropical forests, tree loss because of fire has grown 5% on average each year over the past 20 years. According to the United Nations, there will be an increase in extreme fires globally by up to 14% by 2030, 30% by the end of 2050 and 50% by the end of the century. As the planet heats up, no place is protected from disasters.
