More wildfires will scorch large parts of the globe in coming decades, causing problems governments are ill prepared to confront, a U.N. report says.
{{featured_button_text}} BILLINGS, Mont. — A warming planet and changes to land use patterns mean more wildfires will scorch large parts of the globe in coming decades, causing spikes in unhealthy smoke pollution and other problems that governments are ill prepared to confront, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday.
Tropical forests in Indonesia and the southern Amazon of South America also are likely to see increased wildfires, the report concluded. Some areas including parts of Africa are seeing decreasing wildfires, in part because more land is being devoted to agriculture, said report co-author Glynis Humphrey from the University of Cape Town.
"It impacts people's jobs and the economic situation that people are in," Humphrey said."It's integral that fire be in the same category of disaster management as floods and droughts. It's absolutely essential."