Wildfire Risk Rising Due to Climate Change

Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Bilgili warns that forest fire risk in Turkey's northern regions is increasing due to climate change, with potential fire problems in the Inner Western Black Sea Region and northern Çorum and Çankırı. Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Bilgili from the Department of Forest Engineering at Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi's Faculty of Forestry, stated that forest fire risk in Turkey's northern regions is increasing due to climate change, and that fire problems may be experienced in the Inner Western Black Sea Region and northern Çorum and Çankırı. Forests, which comprise approximately 30% of the world's land area, face increased fire risk due to the effects of global climate change. Particularly in forested areas located in the Mediterranean Basin, this risk is higher due to rising temperatures and drought caused by declining precipitation, while global warming is also increasing the risk in other regions. Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Bilgili, Faculty Member from the Department of Forest Entomology and Protection at Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi's Faculty of Forestry, stated that due to climate change, anomalous weather patterns and prolonged droughts in the coming years could lead to more intense and frequent fires, as well as fires occurring in areas where they have not been seen before. Pointing out that fires could occur in Turkey's more northern regions, in areas where fires are not normally frequent, Bilgili continued as follows: "If I had to point to a specific area; I must state that we will face certain challenges related to forest fires in the Inner Western Black Sea Region, and northern Çorum and Çankırı, because we are seeing signs of this in the extensive drying caused by prolonged droughts in past years. We have already begun to see with increasing frequency in these areas fires of a magnitude that we did not previously observe over large areas. As expected, if the scenarios in climate change become reality, we will have to face extensive fires in these regions and deal with combating them." Noting that approximately 300 to 500 million hectares, equivalent to 450-750 million football fields annually, are affected by fires worldwide, and that fires in Turkey cover an average area of 10-20 thousand hectares per year, equivalent to 15 to 30 thousand football fields, Bilgili stated: "In the 2023 fires so far, since anomalous weather patterns have not been very intense, our success in combating fires is clearly evident."

Fire fighting efforts

Explaining that having good technical capacity in fire fighting efforts does not mean success can always be achieved, Bilgili emphasized that particularly during periods of severe anomalous weather patterns, the damage that fires can cause increases many times over. Stressing the importance of having competent forest fire fighting teams, Bilgili offered the following assessments on what needs to be done regarding forest fire fighting: "Fire safety roads and strips in fire-prone regions of our country must be maintained annually. Moreover, the existence of fire teams and more importantly, ensuring that teams are prepared at the highest level is extremely important. For this, all types of fire-related training must be provided adequately to these workers at training centers. In addition, we must use technology very intensively and effectively. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in fire surveillance or aircraft and helicopters assisting ground crews through the use of water, foam and chemicals are extremely important matters. However, decision support systems that are being developed, such as fire hazard rate systems that would assist decision makers, must be completed and put into practice as soon as possible."   Source