"Current government responses to wildfires are often putting money in the wrong place. Those emergency service workers and firefighters on the front lines who are risking their lives to fight forest wildfires need to be supported," Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, said. (Credit: Noah Berger via AP)
The number of wildfires is projected to increase up to 14% worldwide by the end of this decade and continue to grow steadily over subsequent decades; up to 30% by 2050 and 50% by 2100, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)report "Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires."
Wildfires are anticipated to grow in frequency and intensity in the coming decades as a result of climate change and land-use changes, according to the UNEP. The report concluded that there will always remain at least a residual risk of wildfires that cannot be avoided, and that "we therefore must learn to live with fire."
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Steve Hallo
Steve Hallo is managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. He can be reached at [email protected]
