Jordan: On the third day of the heat wave, fires continue in Ajloun and Jerash.. What is the role of weather and climate change in this?

Weather of Arabia - The Minister of Agriculture, Eng. Khaled Hanifat, said, on Thursday, that the civil defense cadres, in cooperation with the forestry cadres in the governorates of Ajloun and Jerash, and air force planes, are still trying to control a fire that broke out in the Wadi al-Sham forest in the area between Husseiniyat and Anjara, which destroyed large areas of trees The forest area has not been specified.

He added that the causes of the fire are unknown, and an investigation will be opened and the main cause of the fire will be found, indicating that the density of grasses and high temperatures helped quickly spread the fire between trees and destroyed large areas of trees.

And the Public Security Directorate announced, on Friday, that the civil defense cadres are now dealing with a fire of dry grass and forest trees in the Safsafa area of Ajloun Governorate.
The Directorate added, in a statement, that work is underway to extinguish the fire with the support of three Royal Air Force aircraft.

Where the Assistant Secretary-General of Forestry and Pastures in the Ministry of Agriculture, Engineer Khaled Al-Qudah, confirmed that the fires in the Jerash forests renewed on Friday, and aircraft were requested to extinguish the fire to prevent its spread, if necessary, as a result of the forest topography and its difficult terrain.

The civil defense cadres, in cooperation with the forest cadres, put out the fire that broke out in the Wadi al-Sham forests in Ajloun and Jerash governorates, at dawn on Friday.

How does climate change cause heat waves and wildfires?

Climate change is making heat waves hotter and more frequent, which is the case for most regions of the Earth, and confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have increased the planet's temperature by about 1.2 degrees Celsius until July 2022, compared to the pre-industrial era. This higher baseline temperature means that higher temperatures can be reached during extreme heat waves.

“Every heat wave we have today is getting hotter and more frequent because of climate change,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, who is also co-leading the research collaboration for the Global Weather Attribution Initiative.

Climate change increases hot and dry conditions that help fires spread faster, and also leads to longer duration and increased fire intensity.

In the Mediterranean, this contributed to the early start of the fire season and more land burning. In 2021, more than 24,000 acres burned in the European Union, making it the second-worst wildfire season in the bloc after 2017.

Hot weather also drains moisture from vegetation, turning it into dry fuel that helps spread fires.

Countries like Portugal and Greece suffer from fires most of the summer and have the infrastructure to try to deal with them, although both received emergency aid from the European Union this summer. But rising temperatures are also driving wildfires into unfamiliar regions, and thus less prepared to deal with them.

Climate change is not the only factor causing fires

Forest management and ignition sources are also important factors. In Europe, more than nine out of ten fires are started by human activities, such as arson, barbecues, power lines or shattered glass, according to EU data.

Countries, including Spain, are facing the challenge of shrinking rural populations, as people move to cities, leaving a smaller workforce to clear vegetation and avoid the "fuel" that fuels wildfires.

Certain measures can help reduce severe fires, such as controlled ignition, which mimics low-intensity fires in natural ecosystem cycles, or opening gaps within forests to stop fires rapidly spreading over large areas.

But scientists agree that without a sharp reduction in the greenhouse gases that cause climate change, heat waves, wildfires, floods and droughts will get exponentially worse.