The scale of wildfires across the world has been unprecedented. Nearly 20 countries across the world have been affected. In some cases, these blazes have been raging for months.

WION Climate Tracker: Wildfires across the world

Hundreds of firefighters battled Thursday to contain new flare-ups in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece, where summer infernos have caused what the prime minister described as the country's "greatest ecological disaster in decades".

However, rain overnight in some areas and falling temperatures appeared to have eased the situation after two weeks of devastating blazes, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "we can be more optimistic today" than previous days.

Greece's most severe heatwave in decades has fanned blazes that have destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of forests and farmland, the country's worst wildfire damage since 2007, the European Forest Fire Information System said Thursday.

The fires have left three dead, hundreds homeless, forced thousands to flee, and caused economic and environmental devastation.

Greece is just one of a number of countries in the Mediterranean region that have been hit by a savage fire season which authorities have blamed on climate change.

Mitsotakis on Thursday described the "mega fires" as Greece's "greatest ecological disaster in decades".

"Climate crisis is here... and it tells us that everything must change," he told reporters, pointing to other devastating fires in Turkey, Italy and Algeria.

The prime minister said firefighters, volunteers and locals had saved "countless" homes and businesses, but dozens of properties had been lost nonetheless.

Mitsotakis said that 150 homes have been lost in greater Athens over the last week, while the count is ongoing on the island of Evia, which accounts for more than half of the area burned nationwide.

'Can't take it anymore'

A fire service official told AFP on Thursday that "the fire fronts are still active" on Evia and in the Arcadia region of the Peloponnese peninsula and "fires are constantly flaring up" in both areas.

In the north of Evia, where hundreds have been evacuated by boat, 858 firefighters including reinforcements from Ukraine, Romania and Serbia, were battling the flames.

And there was fresh concern in Athens after a new fire broke out on Thursday morning in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos, 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of the capital.

At the height of the fires in early August, the flames had reached the gates of Athens, filling the sky of the city of four million inhabitants with grey smoke.

But after weeks of punishing temperatures often well over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), a lower 33 degrees Celsius was forecast for Thursday.

The falling temperatures and overnight rain in Evia, the Peloponnese and central Greece had helped improve the situation, said Stathis Koulis, the mayor of Gortynia.

The village of Gortynia in a mountainous area of Arcadia 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of Athens has become the primary focus in the Peloponnese, with deep ravines posing a challenge to firefighters.

Twenty villages have been evacuated in the area over the past few days and 680 firefighters, including more than a hundred sent to help from France, and five water-dropping aircraft have been relentlessly battling the flames.

"I can't take it anymore," said farmer Kostis Angelou as he wandered between the corpses of his goats, all 372 of them burnt by a fire that devoured forests on Evia.

The 44-year-old managed to survive by spending hours under an irrigation water pipe, surrounded by flames.

"A saint saved me," he said.

Climate 'code red'

The latest extreme weather events come after a "code red" report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was published on Monday warning that the world is warming far faster than previously feared.

The Mediterranean has been singled out as a "climate change hotspot", with increasing temperatures and aridity lengthening fire seasons and doubling the areas potential burnt, according to draft IPCC assessment seen exclusively by AFP.

Algeria announced three days of national mourning starting Thursday for the 69 dead killed in blazes there.

Five have died in fires in Italy, where what is believed to be a new European record of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) was registered in Sicily on Wednesday -- beating the previous high recorded in Greece in 1977.

Eight people were killed in fires in Turkey's south earlier in the month, while in the north the death count rose to five on Thursday from flash floods that have swept across several Black Sea regions.

Hundreds of firefighters battled Thursday to contain new flare-ups in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece, where summer infernos have caused what the prime minister described as the country's "greatest ecological disaster in decades".

Hundreds of firefighters battled Thursday to contain new flare-ups in wildfire-ravaged areas of Greece, where summer infernos have caused what the prime minister described as the country's "greatest ecological disaster in decades". However, rain overnight in some areas and falling temperatures appeared to have eased the situation after two weeks of devastating blazes, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "we can be more optimistic today" than previous days. Greece's most severe heatwave in decades has fanned blazes that have destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of forests and farmland, the country's worst wildfire damage since 2007, the European Forest Fire Information System said Thursday. The fires have left three dead, hundreds homeless, forced thousands to flee, and caused economic and environmental devastation. Greece is just one of a number of countries in the Mediterranean region that have been hit by a savage fire season which authorities have blamed on climate change. Mitsotakis on Thursday described the "mega fires" as Greece's "greatest ecological disaster in decades". "Climate crisis is here... and it tells us that everything must change," he told reporters, pointing to other devastating fires in Turkey, Italy and Algeria. The prime minister said firefighters, volunteers and locals had saved "countless" homes and businesses, but dozens of properties had been lost nonetheless. Mitsotakis said that 150 homes have been lost in greater Athens over the last week, while the count is ongoing on the island of Evia, which accounts for more than half of the area burned nationwide. 'Can't take it anymore' A fire service official told AFP on Thursday that "the fire fronts are still active" on Evia and in the Arcadia region of the Peloponnese peninsula and "fires are constantly flaring up" in both areas. In the north of Evia, where hundreds have been evacuated by boat, 858 firefighters including reinforcements from Ukraine, Romania and Serbia, were battling the flames. And there was fresh concern in Athens after a new fire broke out on Thursday morning in the industrial zone of Aspropyrgos, 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of the capital. At the height of the fires in early August, the flames had reached the gates of Athens, filling the sky of the city of four million inhabitants with grey smoke. But after weeks of punishing temperatures often well over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), a lower 33 degrees Celsius was forecast for Thursday. The falling temperatures and overnight rain in Evia, the Peloponnese and central Greece had helped improve the situation, said Stathis Koulis, the mayor of Gortynia. The village of Gortynia in a mountainous area of Arcadia 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of Athens has become the primary focus in the Peloponnese, with deep ravines posing a challenge to firefighters. Twenty villages have been evacuated in the area over the past few days and 680 firefighters, including more than a hundred sent to help from France, and five water-dropping aircraft have been relentlessly battling the flames. "I can't take it anymore," said farmer Kostis Angelou as he wandered between the corpses of his goats, all 372 of them burnt by a fire that devoured forests on Evia. The 44-year-old managed to survive by spending hours under an irrigation water pipe, surrounded by flames. "A saint saved me," he said. Climate 'code red' The latest extreme weather events come after a "code red" report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was published on Monday warning that the world is warming far faster than previously feared. The Mediterranean has been singled out as a "climate change hotspot", with increasing temperatures and aridity lengthening fire seasons and doubling the areas potential burnt, according to draft IPCC assessment seen exclusively by AFP. Algeria announced three days of national mourning starting Thursday for the 69 dead killed in blazes there. Five have died in fires in Italy, where what is believed to be a new European record of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) was registered in Sicily on Wednesday -- beating the previous high recorded in Greece in 1977. Eight people were killed in fires in Turkey's south earlier in the month, while in the north the death count rose to five on Thursday from flash floods that have swept across several Black Sea regions.

Over 100,000 hectares burned as Greece faces ‘ecological disaster’ from wildfires

In the wake of wildfires in numerous countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "devastating flames" had damaged many people's lives in recent weeks.&nbsp;

"If we continue business as usual, the risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single disease. We will end the COVID-19 pandemic, but there's no vaccine for the climate crisis," he tweeted.

According to the WHO, "Over 90% of people breathe unhealthy levels of Air Pollution, largely resulting from burning fossil fuels driving Climate Change. Ending the burning of fossil fuels drastically reduces pollution &amp; offers immediate benefits for society &amp; the economy."

"20% of the world's carbon emissions are from transportation. Each of us can help reduce the emissions by walking Person walking‍ and cycling ‍more for your health and the health of the planet. The value of health gains from reducing carbon emissions would be approximately double the global cost of implementing carbon mitigation measures," WHO report said. 
&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateChange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateChange</a> puts the 🌏🌍🌎 at risk from 
 
🔸air pollution 
🔸disease 
🔸extreme weather 
🔸forced displacement 
🔸food insecurity 
🔸pressures on mental health 
 
Around 1⃣3⃣ million people die each year due to environmental factors. <a href="https://t.co/UXzW1qHXbu">pic.twitter.com/UXzW1qHXbu</a>
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1424742689170407425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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(With inputs from agencies)

In the wake of wildfires in numerous countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "devastating flames" had damaged many people's lives in recent weeks.

In the wake of wildfires in numerous countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "devastating flames" had damaged many people's lives in recent weeks. "If we continue business as usual, the risks posed by climate change could dwarf those of any single disease. We will end the COVID-19 pandemic, but there's no vaccine for the climate crisis," he tweeted. According to the WHO, "Over 90% of people breathe unhealthy levels of Air Pollution, largely resulting from burning fossil fuels driving Climate Change. Ending the burning of fossil fuels drastically reduces pollution & offers immediate benefits for society & the economy." "20% of the world's carbon emissions are from transportation. Each of us can help reduce the emissions by walking Person walking‍ and cycling ‍more for your health and the health of the planet. The value of health gains from reducing carbon emissions would be approximately double the global cost of implementing carbon mitigation measures," WHO report said. #ClimateChange puts the 🌏🌍🌎 at risk from 🔸air pollution 🔸disease 🔸extreme weather 🔸forced displacement 🔸food insecurity 🔸pressures on mental health Around 1⃣3⃣ million people die each year due to environmental factors. pic.twitter.com/UXzW1qHXbu — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) August 9, 2021 × (With inputs from agencies)

There's no vaccine for climate crisis: WHO chief on wildfires in several countries

Greece is currently battling one of the devastating forest fires in the region, as record-breaking heatwave continues to plague parts of southern Europe.

Wildfires continue to ravage Greece

The heat wave is expected to peak Monday, with temperatures inland ranging from 42 to 46 degrees Celsius (107.6 to 114.8 Fahrenheit).

Wildfires rage across Greece, Turkey, Italy

At least four people were killed in the wildfires that erupted in Turkey for the third straight day. Many people have been evacuated after the eruption of wildfires in Turkey.

At least four people killed in wildfires in Turkey

Tearing through Spanish and Greek countryside, raging wildfires have devastated several parts of southern Europe. The wildfires have forced around 1,000 people to flee their homes in Sardinia.&nbsp;

Describing the wildfires as a 'disaster without precedence', the local government of Italian island Sardinia has declared a state of emergency on Sunday.&nbsp;

In a statement on Monday, Christian Solinas, president, Sardinia region, said, "It is still not possible to estimate the damages caused by the fires that are still ongoing in the Oristano area." &nbsp;

Solinas added, "Vegetation destroyed, businesses and homes burnt and animals killed." &nbsp;

Providing an update on Tuesday, regional spokesman Ignazio Artissu told CNN, around 20,000 hectares of area has been burnt till now. The officials are still assessing the damage.&nbsp;

Although most of the fires have been put out, authorities are now focusing on taking the immediate steps to ensure fire doesn't start again, Artissu added.&nbsp;

The region has pressed into action around 20 aircrafts and 7,500 people to fight the wildfires recently.&nbsp;

France and Greece have also supported the neighboring Italy by deploying four planes to provide assistance in putting out the flames.&nbsp;

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said his government was monitoring the situation closely and expressed "full solidarity with the population that is working non-stop in the rescue interventions."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Tearing through Spanish and Greek countryside, raging wildfires have devastated several parts of southern Europe. The wildfires have forced around 1,000 people to flee their homes in Sardinia.

Tearing through Spanish and Greek countryside, raging wildfires have devastated several parts of southern Europe. The wildfires have forced around 1,000 people to flee their homes in Sardinia. Describing the wildfires as a 'disaster without precedence', the local government of Italian island Sardinia has declared a state of emergency on Sunday. In a statement on Monday, Christian Solinas, president, Sardinia region, said, "It is still not possible to estimate the damages caused by the fires that are still ongoing in the Oristano area." Solinas added, "Vegetation destroyed, businesses and homes burnt and animals killed." Providing an update on Tuesday, regional spokesman Ignazio Artissu told CNN, around 20,000 hectares of area has been burnt till now. The officials are still assessing the damage. Although most of the fires have been put out, authorities are now focusing on taking the immediate steps to ensure fire doesn't start again, Artissu added. The region has pressed into action around 20 aircrafts and 7,500 people to fight the wildfires recently. France and Greece have also supported the neighboring Italy by deploying four planes to provide assistance in putting out the flames. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said his government was monitoring the situation closely and expressed "full solidarity with the population that is working non-stop in the rescue interventions." (With inputs from agencies)

Wildfires’ wrath forces thousands to flee in ravaged southern Europe 

Wildfires burned across southern European regions on Monday fuelled by strong winds and hot weather. Whereas nothern countries cleaned up after a weekend of flooding and torrential rain.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitosakis said during past 24 hours, the firefighters had battled around 50 fires. He also termed it likely that meteorologists would warn about a further heatwave

"I want to emphasize that August remains a difficult month," he said. "That is why it is important for all of us, all state services, to be on absolute alert until the firefighting period is formally over."

Fire officials said that negligence on farms and construction site was the cause of several fire incidents. Many of these fires were in the Pelopinnesian region. No casulaties were reported.

Conditions in southern Europe were in sharp contrast to the torrential rainstorms that lashed northern countries from Austria to Britain following the catastrophic flooding in Germany and neighbouring countries last week.

On the Italian island of Sardinia, firefighting planes from France and Greece reinforced local aircraft battling blazes across the island where more than 4,000 hectares of forest were burnt and more than 350 people evacuated.

In Sicily, fires broke out near the western town of Erice.

In Spain, the northeastern region of Catalonia saw more than 1,500 hectares destroyed near Santa Coloma de Queralt, forcing dozens to be evacuated, although the blazes were 90% stabilized on Monday, firefighters and authorities said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Wildfires burned across southern European regions on Monday fuelled by strong winds and hot weather. Whereas nothern countries cleaned up after a weekend of flooding and torrential rain.

Wildfires burned across southern European regions on Monday fuelled by strong winds and hot weather. Whereas nothern countries cleaned up after a weekend of flooding and torrential rain. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitosakis said during past 24 hours, the firefighters had battled around 50 fires. He also termed it likely that meteorologists would warn about a further heatwave "I want to emphasize that August remains a difficult month," he said. "That is why it is important for all of us, all state services, to be on absolute alert until the firefighting period is formally over." Fire officials said that negligence on farms and construction site was the cause of several fire incidents. Many of these fires were in the Pelopinnesian region. No casulaties were reported. Conditions in southern Europe were in sharp contrast to the torrential rainstorms that lashed northern countries from Austria to Britain following the catastrophic flooding in Germany and neighbouring countries last week. On the Italian island of Sardinia, firefighting planes from France and Greece reinforced local aircraft battling blazes across the island where more than 4,000 hectares of forest were burnt and more than 350 people evacuated. In Sicily, fires broke out near the western town of Erice. In Spain, the northeastern region of Catalonia saw more than 1,500 hectares destroyed near Santa Coloma de Queralt, forcing dozens to be evacuated, although the blazes were 90% stabilized on Monday, firefighters and authorities said. (With inputs from agencies)

As north cleans up after floods, southern Europe battles wildfires

Intense smoke due to wildfires in the US West Coast caused hazy skies in New York, with the air quality index worsening to 157 in Manhattan.

New York City air quality was among the worst in the world. State officials advised people with asthma and heart disease to avoid strenuous outdoor activity.&nbsp;

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There is still quite a bit of near-surface smoke over NYC this morning from wildfires burning in Western North America. A cold front coming through later today will push the smoke away and clear our skies out. <a href="https://t.co/7b4r7Vdqyf">pic.twitter.com/7b4r7Vdqyf</a>
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George Pope, professor of earth and environmental studies at Montclair State University, who added that he could not see Manhattan from his New Jersey office, was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "I think it’s unusual to have this kind of haze, I don’t recall seeing this kind of thing".

He added, "You can pretty much always see the skyline, at least a silhouette if it’s a hazy day. This is, like, this is unprecedented".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-residents-flee-as-fires-ravage-western-canada-399580">Also read |&nbsp;More residents flee as fires ravage western Canada</a>

This is the second year in a row that smoke from huge wildfires in the US west has traveled 2,000 miles east.

David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said, "We’re seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke. By the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it’s usually thinned out, there’s just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it’s still pretty thick".

Intense smoke due to wildfires in the US West Coast caused hazy skies in New York, with the air quality index worsening to 157 in Manhattan. New York City air quality was among the worst in the world.

Intense smoke due to wildfires in the US West Coast caused hazy skies in New York, with the air quality index worsening to 157 in Manhattan. New York City air quality was among the worst in the world. State officials advised people with asthma and heart disease to avoid strenuous outdoor activity. There is still quite a bit of near-surface smoke over NYC this morning from wildfires burning in Western North America. A cold front coming through later today will push the smoke away and clear our skies out. pic.twitter.com/7b4r7Vdqyf — New York Metro Weather (@nymetrowx) July 21, 2021 × George Pope, professor of earth and environmental studies at Montclair State University, who added that he could not see Manhattan from his New Jersey office, was quoted by The Guardian as saying, "I think it’s unusual to have this kind of haze, I don’t recall seeing this kind of thing". He added, "You can pretty much always see the skyline, at least a silhouette if it’s a hazy day. This is, like, this is unprecedented". Also read | More residents flee as fires ravage western Canada This is the second year in a row that smoke from huge wildfires in the US west has traveled 2,000 miles east. David Lawrence, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said, "We’re seeing lots of fires producing a tremendous amount of smoke. By the time that smoke gets to the eastern portion of the country where it’s usually thinned out, there’s just so much smoke in the atmosphere from all these fires that it’s still pretty thick".

Wildfire aftermath: New York air quality is now among the worst in world

New&nbsp;York&nbsp;and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada.

New&nbsp;York&nbsp;state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

An expert from the agency said it is not uncommon for smoke from fires in the west of the country to reach the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;area, but they usually remain high enough to not affect air quality.&nbsp;This time, the smoke was lower than usual, the expert said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/day-of-mourning-death-toll-from-flooding-in-western-europe-hits-200-399331">Also read |&nbsp;'Day of mourning': Death toll from flooding in western Europe hits 200</a>

The phenomenon was set to dissipate on Wednesday with the arrival of a cold front in the&nbsp;New&nbsp;York&nbsp;region, said a spokesperson for the US National Weather Service.

Several large fires have ravaged the western United States in recent days -- notably in California, Nevada and Oregon, where the dangerous Bootleg Fire is still raging, even though the fire season has only just begun.&nbsp;

In Canada, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in recent days in the province of Ontario, the most populous in the country, and more than 200 fires were active in the province and neighboring Manitoba, according to official figures Tuesday.

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada. New York state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

New York and parts of the eastern United States and Canada were shrouded in a gray smoky haze Tuesday from fires burning in western United States and Canada. New York state's environmental protection services issued an air quality advisory, which is automatically triggered when fine particle matter is expected to rise above 35 micrograms per cubic metre of air. An expert from the agency said it is not uncommon for smoke from fires in the west of the country to reach the New York area, but they usually remain high enough to not affect air quality. This time, the smoke was lower than usual, the expert said. Also read | 'Day of mourning': Death toll from flooding in western Europe hits 200 The phenomenon was set to dissipate on Wednesday with the arrival of a cold front in the New York region, said a spokesperson for the US National Weather Service. Several large fires have ravaged the western United States in recent days -- notably in California, Nevada and Oregon, where the dangerous Bootleg Fire is still raging, even though the fire season has only just begun. In Canada, more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in recent days in the province of Ontario, the most populous in the country, and more than 200 fires were active in the province and neighboring Manitoba, according to official figures Tuesday.

New York issues pollution alert amid smoke from wildfires in west and Canada

Wildfires are scorching vast areas of drought-hit western United States and Canad and firefighting resources are being severely stretched, authorities said on Saturday.

2,200 firefighters are struggling to control the vast Bootleg Fire that's raging in southern Oregon near the border with California. Some firefighters were forced to retreat.

California has vowed to send firefighters to help in Oregon. California itself is hit by wildfires.

And Canada was bringing in some 100 firefighters from Mexico to bolster their exhausted counterparts in northwestern Ontario, provincial authorities announced.

The Bootleg Fire, by far the biggest active blaze in the US, is covering 274,000 acres. It is an area larger than New York City. The fire remains just seven per cent controlled, as per Inciweb website.

"(The) fire remains very active with significant acreage increases due to hot, dry, and breezy conditions," the official site said.

It has destroyed at least 20 homes.

Authorities said the huge blaze had generated ominous and dangerous "fire clouds" reaching miles in the air, able to spawn huge outbreaks of dry lightning and "fire tornadoes."&nbsp;

Firefighter commander Rob Allen noted that the fire's 200-mile (320-kilometer) perimeter is "an enormous amount of line to build and hold."

"We are continuing to use every resource, from dozers to air tankers," he said Friday.

"We have had record heat, and just all the worst possible conditions at one time," Suzanne Flory, a US Forest Service spokesperson, told the Oregonian newspaper.

Meantime, dangerous dry lightning storms were forecast in California.

(With inputs from agencies)

Wildfires are scorching vast areas of drought-hit western United States and Canad and firefighting resources are being severely stretched, authorities said on Saturday.

Wildfires are scorching vast areas of drought-hit western United States and Canad and firefighting resources are being severely stretched, authorities said on Saturday. 2,200 firefighters are struggling to control the vast Bootleg Fire that's raging in southern Oregon near the border with California. Some firefighters were forced to retreat. California has vowed to send firefighters to help in Oregon. California itself is hit by wildfires. And Canada was bringing in some 100 firefighters from Mexico to bolster their exhausted counterparts in northwestern Ontario, provincial authorities announced. The Bootleg Fire, by far the biggest active blaze in the US, is covering 274,000 acres. It is an area larger than New York City. The fire remains just seven per cent controlled, as per Inciweb website. "(The) fire remains very active with significant acreage increases due to hot, dry, and breezy conditions," the official site said. It has destroyed at least 20 homes. Authorities said the huge blaze had generated ominous and dangerous "fire clouds" reaching miles in the air, able to spawn huge outbreaks of dry lightning and "fire tornadoes." Firefighter commander Rob Allen noted that the fire's 200-mile (320-kilometer) perimeter is "an enormous amount of line to build and hold." "We are continuing to use every resource, from dozers to air tankers," he said Friday. "We have had record heat, and just all the worst possible conditions at one time," Suzanne Flory, a US Forest Service spokesperson, told the Oregonian newspaper. Meantime, dangerous dry lightning storms were forecast in California. (With inputs from agencies)

Wildfires in US, Canada stretch firefighter resources

Western states in the US have been dealing with the increase in wildfires. Environmentalists have been concerned about the toxin chemicals released from burned homes into the soil. A non-profit organization in California is using mushrooms to clean up the environment. WION brings you a report.

Fighting the impact of US wildfires with mushrooms

Wildfires are sweeping across Bolivia's Pantanal wetlands near the border with Paraguay. The fires have put at risk thousands of hectares of an area known for its rich wildlife that was hit by major fires just two years ago.

Wildfires sweep across Bolivia's Pantanal wetlands

Ever heard of zombie fires? Those might be the next threat we face as a civilisation battling the disastrous effects of climate change. Forest fires have become extremely regular over the last few years, with regular reports coming in from different parts of the world including Australia, the United States, and the Amazon rainforest in South America.

But the most dangerous threat lies in the boreal forests located&nbsp;in the far north reaches of planet Earth. In these areas, changes in climate are causing more warming than elsewhere.

And that’s not even the worst part. Apparently, many wildfires have developed the ability to re-spawn. Turns out, the “zombie&nbsp;wildfires" in the upper north are coming back to life in spring after seemingly dying off due to winter snow. As soon as the snow retreats, the fires resuscitate back to life.

Scientists from the Netherlands and Alaska have now devised ways to predict the scope and dangers of such “zombie fires” that are now burning throughout the year.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/climate-change-is-killing-worlds-oldest-animal-cave-painting-in-sulawesi-386069" hreflang="en">Climate change is killing world's oldest animal cave painting in Sulawesi</a>

Between 2002 to 2018, about one per cent of the burning that took place in Alaska and Canada’s northwestern territories was able to survive winters, and extended well into the next year, Reuters first reported.

The study, published in Nature on Wednesday found that “zombie fires” now account for more than 38 per cent of all burning that takes place in the region. Such “zombie fires” are now becoming more common as climate change pushes territories into drought, in turn causing devastating fires.

The extent of damage caused by these fires was calculated by scientists using a computer algorithm which took into consideration multiple variables including satellite imagery, human presence and infrastructure, and the records of lightning strikes.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/climate-change-to-destroy-over-20-of-tea-growing-areas-in-kenya-by-2050-384100" hreflang="en">Climate change to destroy over 20% of tea growing areas in Kenya by 2050</a>

The algorithm showed that 0.8 per cent of the area in Alaska and Canada’s northwest has burned over the last 20 years. But it is not easy for fires to survive the cold wintery conditions. They need to be ferociously hot and ignited to continue burning beneath the layers of snow. The “zombie fires” point to how quickly climate change is damaging the region.

Ever heard of zombie fires? Those might be the next threat we face as a civilisation battling the disastrous effects of climate change. Forest fires have become extremely regular over the last few years, with regular reports coming in from different parts of the world including Australia, the United States, and the Amazon rainforest in South America.

Ever heard of zombie fires? Those might be the next threat we face as a civilisation battling the disastrous effects of climate change. Forest fires have become extremely regular over the last few years, with regular reports coming in from different parts of the world including Australia, the United States, and the Amazon rainforest in South America. But the most dangerous threat lies in the boreal forests located in the far north reaches of planet Earth. In these areas, changes in climate are causing more warming than elsewhere. And that’s not even the worst part. Apparently, many wildfires have developed the ability to re-spawn. Turns out, the “zombie wildfires" in the upper north are coming back to life in spring after seemingly dying off due to winter snow. As soon as the snow retreats, the fires resuscitate back to life. Scientists from the Netherlands and Alaska have now devised ways to predict the scope and dangers of such “zombie fires” that are now burning throughout the year. Also read: Climate change is killing world's oldest animal cave painting in Sulawesi Between 2002 to 2018, about one per cent of the burning that took place in Alaska and Canada’s northwestern territories was able to survive winters, and extended well into the next year, Reuters first reported. The study, published in Nature on Wednesday found that “zombie fires” now account for more than 38 per cent of all burning that takes place in the region. Such “zombie fires” are now becoming more common as climate change pushes territories into drought, in turn causing devastating fires. The extent of damage caused by these fires was calculated by scientists using a computer algorithm which took into consideration multiple variables including satellite imagery, human presence and infrastructure, and the records of lightning strikes. Also read: Climate change to destroy over 20% of tea growing areas in Kenya by 2050 The algorithm showed that 0.8 per cent of the area in Alaska and Canada’s northwest has burned over the last 20 years. But it is not easy for fires to survive the cold wintery conditions. They need to be ferociously hot and ignited to continue burning beneath the layers of snow. The “zombie fires” point to how quickly climate change is damaging the region.

Meet climate change's latest offering to Earth - 'Zombie wildfires'

Nepal is experiencing its worst fire season in almost a decade as huge blazes rage across the country's forests. Air quality in the capital Kathmandu was ranked as the worst in the world on Tuesday.

Nepal hit by worst wildfires in almost a year, govt shuts schools

The day Paradise burned, Aaron Singer was a skeptic. Then he saw the flames in his rearview mirror.

This was November 2018, and the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history, was making swift and smoky headway through the Sierra Nevada foothills. It took less than four hours to rip through this town of 26,000 residents, reducing schools, businesses and 11,000 homes into piles of smoldering ash.

When Singer got the evacuation order, he thought it was another false alarm. But he peeled out of his driveway as flames licked his yard, making it out of town with minutes to spare.

Paradise was lost. Eighty-five people died, and more than 90% of its population was driven out. Two years later, about 4,000 residents have returned to its scorched earth to lay new foundations and test fate once again. Singer is among them.

Now he is having second thoughts.

For decades in this chaparral-covered ecosystem, it has been a ritual: After the burn comes the rebuild. But as the nation’s most populous state stares down a seething climate crisis, one that cranked temperatures into triple digits last fall and set off a series of infernos that exploded into bone-dry air, the rebuilding process is beginning to look different.

California has battled dual crises, with the largest wildfire season on record breaking out in the midst of the pandemic. At the close of 2020, as millions of Californians were put under a second lockdown in a bid to quell a massive second surge in COVID-19 cases, more than 4.2 million acres of the state had been scorched by nearly 10,000 fires. But in many ways, the crises have split the state into two: Northern California continues to reel from multiple megafires, including the August Complex Fire and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire that exploded in late summer. And in Southern California, Los Angeles is now the epicenter of the pandemic, leading the nation both in confirmed cases and number of deaths.

In the midst of this, a historic housing shortage and low interest rates have pushed California’s home prices to record highs. In August, the median cost of a single-family home in the state crossed $700,000; in September it climbed further.

And while the cost of new homes is on the rise, many homeowners are finding the cost of rebuilding after a fire is even higher.

Home rebuilds are on the decline across the entire state, triggered by a combination of contractor shortages, pressures on the rental market and an ever-escalating climate crisis that has become impossible to ignore.

California, which remains mired in an affordable-housing crisis, has seen new construction permits dwindle for the past two years after more than a decade of rebounding steadily after the 2008 recession. New home construction permits reached 120,000 in 2018, then dipped to 110,000 in 2019.

The California Industry Research Board, which monitors construction and permit activity statewide, will publish its 2020 numbers in February but estimates that only 103,670 total housing units were issued last year.

The board doesn’t track when permits are issued for fire-related losses. And “analyzing the effect of California’s wildfires on homebuilding has historically been difficult, as wildfires typically do not enclose themselves in one municipality alone,” Marissa Saldivar, the board’s data journalist intern, wrote in a recent report.

But the statewide decline in rebuilds, coupled with the increase and intensity in fires, points to a clear trend: Faced with the choice of rebuilding or starting afresh, more homeowners than ever before are choosing to cut their losses.

A critical piece of the puzzle? The state is also short on contractors, which means homeowners looking to rebuild can find themselves in limbo for four or even five years.

“Even after the Camp Fire, you’d think we would have seen a spike in the number of permits, and yet we haven’t,” said Dan Dunmoyer, president and chief executive of the California Building Industry Association. “Most big insurance companies will just cut you a big check, and you can be sitting there looking at a check for $900,000. And you talk to contractors and they say: ‘Sure, I can build you a home, but I’m backed up for a year and a half.’ So we’re seeing a lot people just cut and run.”

There is one exception: Rebuilds are holding steady where the land is particularly valuable, as it was in 2018 when the devastating Woolsey Fire tore through Malibu, one of the Los Angeles area's most exclusive cliffside hideaways. Three people were killed. The entire city was evacuated, and 650 of its multimillion-dollar homes, including those belonging to Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler and Robin Thicke, were vanquished, but today more than one-third of those homes have rebuild permits (in Paradise, the number stands at just over 10%).

“Rebuilding after a fire is sort of like someone who gets a shark bite and still goes back and surfs,” said Michael Nourmand, president of the Los Angeles real estate brokerage Nourmand &amp; Associates. “But people in LA have a short memory. Most people are planning to rebuild.”

It’s always easier to indulge an urge to rebuild, however, if you have deep pockets. California in 2008 enforced strict fire-safe building codes, which require reinforced roofs made of brick, masonry or concrete; walls that can withstand high temperatures; and landscaping that is free of highly flammable flora. In 2011, the state also required all single-family homes to be equipped with sprinkler systems. These codes can increase costs by $20,000 or more for homeowners looking to rebuild a pre-2008 home.

Homeowners who do choose to rebuild must enter the rental market while waiting it out, putting pressure on a housing system where prices are already inflated and demand far outstrips supply. And the state’s most vulnerable residents inevitably suffer the domino effects. California’s homelessness numbers rose 16% in 2019 and have now swelled to more than 150,000 of its residents. Because of COVID-19, those numbers are expected to rise.

“When thousands of homes burn down, those people are pushed elsewhere, which pushes rental prices up. That means affordable housing also goes up and housing insecurity goes by the wayside,” said James Ryan, president of Time for Homes, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating chronic homelessness.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s eviction moratorium, meant to protect tenants from losing their homes because of hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, expires Feb. 1. But some reports point to evictions rising during the pandemic, despite the moratorium.

“There are always people who get lost in the shuffle,” Ryan said. “There are forced evictions, and those people will be looking for other housing, just as people who have lost homes from fire will be looking for temporary housing too. You have more and more people looking for fewer and fewer homes.”

The crunch is causing a population shift to California’s more rural enclaves. In tiny El Dorado County, east of Sacramento, sales in 2020 were up 28% (compared with a small decline in Sacramento).

But it’s the Inland Empire, the swath of Riverside and San Bernardino counties that sits inland and adjacent to Los Angeles, that is the fastest-growing sector of the state, and it has largely been spared the megafires that have raged through many of the state’s major metropolitan areas, including San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, over the last two decades. COVID-19, which has prompted an upsizing, exurban surge, has only increased this trend.

The median home price in Riverside County in November was $490,000; in San Bernardino County it was $380,250. That’s a fraction of Orange County’s median, which was $930,000; Los Angeles County, meanwhile, saw a median of $664,160. And in the Inland Empire, job growth is strong — for fire-stricken families staring at insurance checks and weighing their options, Dunmoyer said, heading east presents an appealing option.

But it’s also impossible to pinpoint cause and effect.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of movement toward areas like the Inland Empire, and also out in Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. It’s difficult to say how much is flight away from fire risk and how much is just movement toward affordability. It’s been happening since about 2010,” Dunmoyer said.

But moving away from fire risk isn’t a viable option for everyone, especially not in a state already facing an extreme housing shortfall.

Since the Camp Fire, Singer and his wife, Shannon, have been renting an apartment in Chico, about 20 miles away, while navigating the various headaches — insurance, zoning, construction, planning — to rebuild their home. They have also started a nonprofit, Paradise Stronger, which utilizes their background in fitness coaching to bring mental health care to residents coping with trauma from the disaster.

At first, they were committed to being part of Paradise’s ambitious recovery plan to rebuild the entire city from scratch, which includes more parks and green space, fire-safe landscaping, and improved evacuation routes and warning systems.

But then came the 2020 fire season, which pushed new hellish vocabulary into the lexicon — “megafires,” “hot drought.” Fire-whipping winds, which force preventive power shut-offs, are now standard practice. In October, the Singers found themselves once again evacuating their land, except this time, the fire was both on its way and had already had its feast.

“This time around, the area that got evacuated first was exactly where our home would have been,” Singer, 43, said. “All you could see was smoke. The PTSD was rampant.”

His wife decided she had had enough.

“She turned to me and said, ‘I’m not sure I want to rebuild. I’m not sure this is where I want to be anymore,’” Singer said. For his part, he says, he would be willing to stick it out — but not at the expense of his relationship.

“I see the vision of this town, and I want to be a part of that, but not if it means my marriage,” Singer said.

For now, the couple have hit the pause button on their rebuild plans. If they do move forward, they’re also looking at spending $100,000 out of pocket. Their rebuild plans are for a smaller but more fire-safe home on the same property, and the estimated cost is $250,000. They received $145,000 for the structure that burned; like nearly 60% of American households, they learned after the fact that they were vastly underinsured.

Many insurers have also abandoned policies altogether in areas deemed too high a risk: The California Department of Insurance in October reported that refusals from home insurers to renew policies rose by 31% statewide in 2019, and that percentage jumped to 61% in ZIP codes with an elevated fire risk.

A handful of new developments have responded by incorporating new resilience protocols into their building strategies in areas well acquainted with wildfire. In Southern California, Rancho Mission Viejo, which is in the southern part of Orange County and is the largest new community in the state, has been in development since 2001 on 23,000 acres of open space. When completed, it will provide 14,000 homes (including 6,000 homes for 55-plus residents), and its development plans stipulate that 75% of that open space be preserved.

Fire resilience is a tenet of the construction, and the community implemented many wildfire resistance tactics long before they became state and local requirements. The community was recently highlighted in a report by the Urban Land Institute (as was the entire town of Paradise, whose rebuild, the report said, could serve as a template for other wildfire-affected communities).

Each neighborhood in Rancho Mission Viejo is surrounded by a 110-foot-wide fuel modification zone — a strip of land where combustible vegetation has been replaced with fire-resistant plants. Certain plant species are prohibited. Construction materials are noncombustible; automatic fire sprinklers were mandatory in every home well before the California law changed in 2011. And the added cost is now negligible; when construction began, those fire-safe modifications were adding between $4,000 and $10,000 to the bottom line of each home, compared with a comparable-size new home in the area, but have since dipped to as low as $1,000.

Jay Bullock, Rancho Mission Viejo’s vice president for planning and entitlement, said that is because fire-safe methods, once considered radical, have become more commonplace.

“The market has caught up,” he said.

And in a state where livable space is at a premium, building safely in high fire hazard zones is the key to a sustainable future, said Mike Balsamo, Rancho Mission Viejo’s senior vice president for governmental relations.

“There is a playbook,” he said. “We can create the most fire-safe community possible.”

The day Paradise burned, Aaron Singer was a skeptic. Then he saw the flames in his rearview mirror. This was November 2018, and the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history, was making swift and smoky headway through the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The day Paradise burned, Aaron Singer was a skeptic. Then he saw the flames in his rearview mirror. This was November 2018, and the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history, was making swift and smoky headway through the Sierra Nevada foothills. It took less than four hours to rip through this town of 26,000 residents, reducing schools, businesses and 11,000 homes into piles of smoldering ash. When Singer got the evacuation order, he thought it was another false alarm. But he peeled out of his driveway as flames licked his yard, making it out of town with minutes to spare. Paradise was lost. Eighty-five people died, and more than 90% of its population was driven out. Two years later, about 4,000 residents have returned to its scorched earth to lay new foundations and test fate once again. Singer is among them. Now he is having second thoughts. For decades in this chaparral-covered ecosystem, it has been a ritual: After the burn comes the rebuild. But as the nation’s most populous state stares down a seething climate crisis, one that cranked temperatures into triple digits last fall and set off a series of infernos that exploded into bone-dry air, the rebuilding process is beginning to look different. California has battled dual crises, with the largest wildfire season on record breaking out in the midst of the pandemic. At the close of 2020, as millions of Californians were put under a second lockdown in a bid to quell a massive second surge in COVID-19 cases, more than 4.2 million acres of the state had been scorched by nearly 10,000 fires. But in many ways, the crises have split the state into two: Northern California continues to reel from multiple megafires, including the August Complex Fire and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire that exploded in late summer. And in Southern California, Los Angeles is now the epicenter of the pandemic, leading the nation both in confirmed cases and number of deaths. In the midst of this, a historic housing shortage and low interest rates have pushed California’s home prices to record highs. In August, the median cost of a single-family home in the state crossed $700,000; in September it climbed further. And while the cost of new homes is on the rise, many homeowners are finding the cost of rebuilding after a fire is even higher. Home rebuilds are on the decline across the entire state, triggered by a combination of contractor shortages, pressures on the rental market and an ever-escalating climate crisis that has become impossible to ignore. California, which remains mired in an affordable-housing crisis, has seen new construction permits dwindle for the past two years after more than a decade of rebounding steadily after the 2008 recession. New home construction permits reached 120,000 in 2018, then dipped to 110,000 in 2019. The California Industry Research Board, which monitors construction and permit activity statewide, will publish its 2020 numbers in February but estimates that only 103,670 total housing units were issued last year. The board doesn’t track when permits are issued for fire-related losses. And “analyzing the effect of California’s wildfires on homebuilding has historically been difficult, as wildfires typically do not enclose themselves in one municipality alone,” Marissa Saldivar, the board’s data journalist intern, wrote in a recent report. But the statewide decline in rebuilds, coupled with the increase and intensity in fires, points to a clear trend: Faced with the choice of rebuilding or starting afresh, more homeowners than ever before are choosing to cut their losses. A critical piece of the puzzle? The state is also short on contractors, which means homeowners looking to rebuild can find themselves in limbo for four or even five years. “Even after the Camp Fire, you’d think we would have seen a spike in the number of permits, and yet we haven’t,” said Dan Dunmoyer, president and chief executive of the California Building Industry Association. “Most big insurance companies will just cut you a big check, and you can be sitting there looking at a check for $900,000. And you talk to contractors and they say: ‘Sure, I can build you a home, but I’m backed up for a year and a half.’ So we’re seeing a lot people just cut and run.” There is one exception: Rebuilds are holding steady where the land is particularly valuable, as it was in 2018 when the devastating Woolsey Fire tore through Malibu, one of the Los Angeles area's most exclusive cliffside hideaways. Three people were killed. The entire city was evacuated, and 650 of its multimillion-dollar homes, including those belonging to Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler and Robin Thicke, were vanquished, but today more than one-third of those homes have rebuild permits (in Paradise, the number stands at just over 10%). “Rebuilding after a fire is sort of like someone who gets a shark bite and still goes back and surfs,” said Michael Nourmand, president of the Los Angeles real estate brokerage Nourmand & Associates. “But people in LA have a short memory. Most people are planning to rebuild.” It’s always easier to indulge an urge to rebuild, however, if you have deep pockets. California in 2008 enforced strict fire-safe building codes, which require reinforced roofs made of brick, masonry or concrete; walls that can withstand high temperatures; and landscaping that is free of highly flammable flora. In 2011, the state also required all single-family homes to be equipped with sprinkler systems. These codes can increase costs by $20,000 or more for homeowners looking to rebuild a pre-2008 home. Homeowners who do choose to rebuild must enter the rental market while waiting it out, putting pressure on a housing system where prices are already inflated and demand far outstrips supply. And the state’s most vulnerable residents inevitably suffer the domino effects. California’s homelessness numbers rose 16% in 2019 and have now swelled to more than 150,000 of its residents. Because of COVID-19, those numbers are expected to rise. “When thousands of homes burn down, those people are pushed elsewhere, which pushes rental prices up. That means affordable housing also goes up and housing insecurity goes by the wayside,” said James Ryan, president of Time for Homes, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating chronic homelessness. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s eviction moratorium, meant to protect tenants from losing their homes because of hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, expires Feb. 1. But some reports point to evictions rising during the pandemic, despite the moratorium. “There are always people who get lost in the shuffle,” Ryan said. “There are forced evictions, and those people will be looking for other housing, just as people who have lost homes from fire will be looking for temporary housing too. You have more and more people looking for fewer and fewer homes.” The crunch is causing a population shift to California’s more rural enclaves. In tiny El Dorado County, east of Sacramento, sales in 2020 were up 28% (compared with a small decline in Sacramento). But it’s the Inland Empire, the swath of Riverside and San Bernardino counties that sits inland and adjacent to Los Angeles, that is the fastest-growing sector of the state, and it has largely been spared the megafires that have raged through many of the state’s major metropolitan areas, including San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, over the last two decades. COVID-19, which has prompted an upsizing, exurban surge, has only increased this trend. The median home price in Riverside County in November was $490,000; in San Bernardino County it was $380,250. That’s a fraction of Orange County’s median, which was $930,000; Los Angeles County, meanwhile, saw a median of $664,160. And in the Inland Empire, job growth is strong — for fire-stricken families staring at insurance checks and weighing their options, Dunmoyer said, heading east presents an appealing option. But it’s also impossible to pinpoint cause and effect. “We’ve been seeing a lot of movement toward areas like the Inland Empire, and also out in Joshua Tree and Palm Springs. It’s difficult to say how much is flight away from fire risk and how much is just movement toward affordability. It’s been happening since about 2010,” Dunmoyer said. But moving away from fire risk isn’t a viable option for everyone, especially not in a state already facing an extreme housing shortfall. Since the Camp Fire, Singer and his wife, Shannon, have been renting an apartment in Chico, about 20 miles away, while navigating the various headaches — insurance, zoning, construction, planning — to rebuild their home. They have also started a nonprofit, Paradise Stronger, which utilizes their background in fitness coaching to bring mental health care to residents coping with trauma from the disaster. At first, they were committed to being part of Paradise’s ambitious recovery plan to rebuild the entire city from scratch, which includes more parks and green space, fire-safe landscaping, and improved evacuation routes and warning systems. But then came the 2020 fire season, which pushed new hellish vocabulary into the lexicon — “megafires,” “hot drought.” Fire-whipping winds, which force preventive power shut-offs, are now standard practice. In October, the Singers found themselves once again evacuating their land, except this time, the fire was both on its way and had already had its feast. “This time around, the area that got evacuated first was exactly where our home would have been,” Singer, 43, said. “All you could see was smoke. The PTSD was rampant.” His wife decided she had had enough. “She turned to me and said, ‘I’m not sure I want to rebuild. I’m not sure this is where I want to be anymore,’” Singer said. For his part, he says, he would be willing to stick it out — but not at the expense of his relationship. “I see the vision of this town, and I want to be a part of that, but not if it means my marriage,” Singer said. For now, the couple have hit the pause button on their rebuild plans. If they do move forward, they’re also looking at spending $100,000 out of pocket. Their rebuild plans are for a smaller but more fire-safe home on the same property, and the estimated cost is $250,000. They received $145,000 for the structure that burned; like nearly 60% of American households, they learned after the fact that they were vastly underinsured. Many insurers have also abandoned policies altogether in areas deemed too high a risk: The California Department of Insurance in October reported that refusals from home insurers to renew policies rose by 31% statewide in 2019, and that percentage jumped to 61% in ZIP codes with an elevated fire risk. A handful of new developments have responded by incorporating new resilience protocols into their building strategies in areas well acquainted with wildfire. In Southern California, Rancho Mission Viejo, which is in the southern part of Orange County and is the largest new community in the state, has been in development since 2001 on 23,000 acres of open space. When completed, it will provide 14,000 homes (including 6,000 homes for 55-plus residents), and its development plans stipulate that 75% of that open space be preserved. Fire resilience is a tenet of the construction, and the community implemented many wildfire resistance tactics long before they became state and local requirements. The community was recently highlighted in a report by the Urban Land Institute (as was the entire town of Paradise, whose rebuild, the report said, could serve as a template for other wildfire-affected communities). Each neighborhood in Rancho Mission Viejo is surrounded by a 110-foot-wide fuel modification zone — a strip of land where combustible vegetation has been replaced with fire-resistant plants. Certain plant species are prohibited. Construction materials are noncombustible; automatic fire sprinklers were mandatory in every home well before the California law changed in 2011. And the added cost is now negligible; when construction began, those fire-safe modifications were adding between $4,000 and $10,000 to the bottom line of each home, compared with a comparable-size new home in the area, but have since dipped to as low as $1,000. Jay Bullock, Rancho Mission Viejo’s vice president for planning and entitlement, said that is because fire-safe methods, once considered radical, have become more commonplace. “The market has caught up,” he said. And in a state where livable space is at a premium, building safely in high fire hazard zones is the key to a sustainable future, said Mike Balsamo, Rancho Mission Viejo’s senior vice president for governmental relations. “There is a playbook,” he said. “We can create the most fire-safe community possible.”

Hounded by wildfires, Californians rethink their willingness to rebuild

Wildfires raged in Chile's Valparaiso region on Friday (January 15), turning the sky red and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes.

Thousands evacuate as wildfires turn the sky red in Chile

Rising temperatures and environmental pollutants are already endangering the health and well-being of Americans, with fatal consequences for thousands of older men and women, a team of public health experts warned Wednesday. Their report, published in The Lancet, called on lawmakers to stem the rise of planet-warming gases in the next five years.

The section on the United States presents climate change as a public health risk now, rather than a hazard faced by future generations. It points to the immediate dangers of extreme heat, wildfires and air pollution, and makes the case for rapidly shifting to a green economy as a way to improve public health.

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The coronavirus pandemic, the authors point out, has served as a reminder of the urgent need to strengthen the country’s public health system — something that’s going to be all the more necessary for Americans to deal with the health effects of climate change, which, the authors conclude, disproportionately harm those with the fewest resources to respond to threats.

“The overarching theme I stress to the incoming administration is making health central,” said Dr. Renee N. Salas, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the U.S. policy paper contained in The Lancet report, in a call with reporters. “Climate action is a prescription for health.”

The report contains a set of broad recommendations aimed squarely at the incoming presidential administration. To improve the health of Americans, the authors recommend ending subsidies for fossil fuels, investing in public transit options, and reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers on U.S. farms, which are a source of both air pollution and planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have to stop investing in what is a thing of the past and health-harming,” Salas said.

The report summarizes the research on how rising temperatures — and more frequent, more intense heat waves in particular — are already damaging human health around the world. In the past 20 years, the report finds, extreme heat has been linked to a 50% increase in deaths of people older than 65, with 296,000 deaths in 2018. Most of those deaths were in Japan, China, India and parts of Europe.

Extreme heat also makes it hard to work, especially outdoors. According to the report, 302 billion hours of potential labor productivity were lost in 2019 alone. Workers in hot, humid countries like India and Indonesia were most affected.

In the past 20 years, there were also more days when the risk of wildfires was high. Fires have grown bigger and more severe in landscapes like the Western United States, destroying 4 million acres in California alone this year. The number of days when there is wildfire smoke in the air have risen sharply, too.

The Lancet Countdown on Climate Change and Health, as the paper is formally known, is published each year by the medical journal. Wednesday’s edition was the fifth annual report and was written by experts from more than 35 research institutions all over the world.

The report found that climates suitable for infectious diseases had expanded, with areas ripe for dengue-spreading mosquitoes having grown by 15% since the 1950s. It pointed to worrying signs on food security as well. Between 1981 and 2019, the report found, the “yield potential” for several staple crops has dropped, meaning that crops are maturing faster and production is lower than average. The largest drops have been for maize, a staple in parts of Africa and Latin America. The world still produces enough food, though it doesn’t always go to the people who need it most.

The Lancet Countdown calls on national governments to make drastic reductions in emissions in the next five years. Without them, its authors say, it will be increasingly difficult to avert the worst effects of warming. “These next five years will be pivotal,” the authors wrote.

The United Nations published a separate report Wednesday concluding that governments must reduce the production of fossil fuels by 6% a year over the next 10 years to limit catastrophic warming.

Rising temperatures and environmental pollutants are already endangering the health and well-being of Americans, with fatal consequences for thousands of older men and women, a team of public health experts warned Wednesday.

Rising temperatures and environmental pollutants are already endangering the health and well-being of Americans, with fatal consequences for thousands of older men and women, a team of public health experts warned Wednesday. Their report, published in The Lancet, called on lawmakers to stem the rise of planet-warming gases in the next five years. The section on the United States presents climate change as a public health risk now, rather than a hazard faced by future generations. It points to the immediate dangers of extreme heat, wildfires and air pollution, and makes the case for rapidly shifting to a green economy as a way to improve public health. The coronavirus pandemic, the authors point out, has served as a reminder of the urgent need to strengthen the country’s public health system — something that’s going to be all the more necessary for Americans to deal with the health effects of climate change, which, the authors conclude, disproportionately harm those with the fewest resources to respond to threats. “The overarching theme I stress to the incoming administration is making health central,” said Dr. Renee N. Salas, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the U.S. policy paper contained in The Lancet report, in a call with reporters. “Climate action is a prescription for health.” The report contains a set of broad recommendations aimed squarely at the incoming presidential administration. To improve the health of Americans, the authors recommend ending subsidies for fossil fuels, investing in public transit options, and reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers on U.S. farms, which are a source of both air pollution and planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. “We have to stop investing in what is a thing of the past and health-harming,” Salas said. The report summarizes the research on how rising temperatures — and more frequent, more intense heat waves in particular — are already damaging human health around the world. In the past 20 years, the report finds, extreme heat has been linked to a 50% increase in deaths of people older than 65, with 296,000 deaths in 2018. Most of those deaths were in Japan, China, India and parts of Europe. Extreme heat also makes it hard to work, especially outdoors. According to the report, 302 billion hours of potential labor productivity were lost in 2019 alone. Workers in hot, humid countries like India and Indonesia were most affected. In the past 20 years, there were also more days when the risk of wildfires was high. Fires have grown bigger and more severe in landscapes like the Western United States, destroying 4 million acres in California alone this year. The number of days when there is wildfire smoke in the air have risen sharply, too. The Lancet Countdown on Climate Change and Health, as the paper is formally known, is published each year by the medical journal. Wednesday’s edition was the fifth annual report and was written by experts from more than 35 research institutions all over the world. The report found that climates suitable for infectious diseases had expanded, with areas ripe for dengue-spreading mosquitoes having grown by 15% since the 1950s. It pointed to worrying signs on food security as well. Between 1981 and 2019, the report found, the “yield potential” for several staple crops has dropped, meaning that crops are maturing faster and production is lower than average. The largest drops have been for maize, a staple in parts of Africa and Latin America. The world still produces enough food, though it doesn’t always go to the people who need it most. The Lancet Countdown calls on national governments to make drastic reductions in emissions in the next five years. Without them, its authors say, it will be increasingly difficult to avert the worst effects of warming. “These next five years will be pivotal,” the authors wrote. The United Nations published a separate report Wednesday concluding that governments must reduce the production of fossil fuels by 6% a year over the next 10 years to limit catastrophic warming.

A hotter planet is already killing Americans, health experts warn

Wind-driven walls of flame spurred mass evacuations in Southern California and left two firefighters badly injured on Monday, as hundreds of thousands of residents endured a second day of power shutoffs meant to counter heightened fire risks from gusty, dry weather.

Southern California wildfires prompt mass evacuations, two firefighters injured

Wildfires continue to ravage parts of America. The Camron peak fire in Colorado has been burning since August the 13. Watch report.

Largest wildfire in Colorado's history: Over 16,000 SQ KM land burnt

Wildfires fuelled by high temperature ravage several regions of Syria, Lebanon & Turkey. The wildfires triggered by heatwaves hitting the region have killed at least 3 people and burned swaths of land.

Wildfires ravage parts of West Asia, forest fires claim at least 3 lives in Syria

It's a "total loss," admitted Californian winemaker Dario Sattui, as he inspected the wildfire damage to his Castello di Amorosa winery in the Napa Valley wine region. On Sunday night, flames from the Glass fire destroyed wine-storage chamber, a fermentation room, a bottling facility and offices at Sattui's Castello di Amorosa winery, but its distinctive castle complex and tasting room remained unscathed.

California winery owner loses his "dream castle" to wildfires in Napa Valley

A northern California wildfire raging in the foothills of the Cascade range has claimed three lives, officials said on Monday, as a separate blaze prompted mass evacuations and spread turmoil to the famed wine-producing regions of Napa and Sonoma counties.

The three fatalities in the so-called Zogg Fire in Shasta County, which erupted on Sunday near Redding, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, were reported by the county sheriff and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). They were all civilians.

No further details about the victims or how they perished were immediately provided. But the deaths bring to 29 the number of people killed since mid-August in a California wildfire season of historic proportions.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/famed-wine-regions-in-california-destroyed-by-wildfires-thousands-flee-331129" hreflang="en">Famed wine regions in California destroyed by wildfires; thousands flee</a>

The Zogg fire, which has destroyed 146 structures and charred 31,000 acres of grassy hillsides and oak woodlands thick with dry scrub, coincided with the outbreak of another conflagration in the heart of California's wine country north of the Bay area.

That blaze, dubbed the Glass Fire, has spread across 36,000 acres of similar terrain in Napa and Sonoma counties since early Sunday, incinerating more than 100 homes and other buildings, forcing thousands of residents to flee and threatening world-renowned vineyards, according to CalFire.

Both fires were listed at zero containment as of Monday evening. The cause of each was under investigation.

They marked the latest flashpoints in a destructive spate of wildfires this summer across the Western United States.

In California this year, wildfires have scorched 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares) since January - far exceeding any single year in state history. They have been stoked by intense, prolonged bouts of heat, high winds and other weather extremes that scientists attribute to climate change.

More than 7,000 homes and other structures have burned statewide so far this year.

LANDMARK CHATEAU BURNS

The Glass Fire broke out in Napa Valley before dawn near Calistoga before merging with two other blazes into a larger eruption of flames straddling western Napa County and an adjacent swath of Sonoma County.

In one notable property loss, the mansion-like Chateau Boswell winery in St. Helena - a familiar landmark along the Silverado Trail road running the length of the Napa Valley - went up in flames on Sunday night.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/wildfire-smoke-from-us-crosses-the-atlantic-ocean-seen-in-parts-of-finland-uk-329412" hreflang="en">Wildfire smoke from US crosses the Atlantic Ocean; seen in parts of Finland, UK</a>

An estimated 60,000 residents have been placed under evacuation orders or advisories in Sonoma and Napa counties combined, but no injuries have been reported.

Not everyone heeded evacuation orders.

As neighbors around him fled, Santa Rosa resident Jas Sihota perched himself on his front porch with a garden hose, darting out every 15 minutes or so to douse nearby spot fires seeded by wind-blown embers under a hazy red sun.

Sihota, a radiology technician at a nearby hospital, said he had not slept in some 24 hours.

"I wouldn't have a house if I didn't stay," said Sihota. At least 10 homes elsewhere on the street beyond the reach of his hose were destroyed.

In 2017, roughly 5% of Santa Rosa's homes were lost when downed power lines sparked a devastating firestorm in October that swept the region, killing 19 people.

HARVEST SEASON SMOKE

The Glass Fire struck about midway through the region's traditional grape-harvesting season, already disrupted by a spate of large fires earlier this summer.

Several Napa Valley growers said recently they would forgo a 2020 vintage altogether due to smoke contamination of ripening grapes waiting to be picked.

The 475 vintners in Napa Valley alone account for just 4% of the state's grape harvest but half the retail value of all California wines sold. Sonoma County, too, has become a premiere viticulture region with some 450 wineries and a million acres of vineyards.

The full impact on the region's wine business remains to be seen and will differ for each grower, depending on how far along they are in the harvest, said Teresa Wall, spokeswoman for the Napa Valley Vintners trade group.

"There are some who were close to wrapping up, and some who were still planning to leave their grapes hanging out there for a while," she said.

The fires caused major upheavals for the area's most vulnerable residents already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Adventist Health St. Helena hospital was forced to evacuate patients on Sunday, the second time in a month following a lightning-sparked wildfire in August.

On Monday, residents at Oakmont Gardens, a Santa Rosa retirement community, leaned on walkers and waited to board a bus taking them to safety, their face masks doubling as protection against smoke and COVID-19.

Over 100,000 homes and business have suffered power outages across northern California since Sunday, some from precautionary shutoffs of transmission lines to reduce wildfire risks in the midst of extremely windy, hot, dry weather, Pacific Gas and Electric Co reported.

Red-flag warnings for extreme wildfire risks remained posted for much of Northern California, forecasting low humidity and gale-force wind gusts.

A northern California wildfire raging in the foothills of the Cascade range has claimed three lives, officials said on Monday, as a separate blaze prompted mass evacuations and spread turmoil to the famed wine-producing regions of Napa and Sonoma counties.

A northern California wildfire raging in the foothills of the Cascade range has claimed three lives, officials said on Monday, as a separate blaze prompted mass evacuations and spread turmoil to the famed wine-producing regions of Napa and Sonoma counties. The three fatalities in the so-called Zogg Fire in Shasta County, which erupted on Sunday near Redding, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, were reported by the county sheriff and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). They were all civilians. No further details about the victims or how they perished were immediately provided. But the deaths bring to 29 the number of people killed since mid-August in a California wildfire season of historic proportions. Also read: Famed wine regions in California destroyed by wildfires; thousands flee The Zogg fire, which has destroyed 146 structures and charred 31,000 acres of grassy hillsides and oak woodlands thick with dry scrub, coincided with the outbreak of another conflagration in the heart of California's wine country north of the Bay area. That blaze, dubbed the Glass Fire, has spread across 36,000 acres of similar terrain in Napa and Sonoma counties since early Sunday, incinerating more than 100 homes and other buildings, forcing thousands of residents to flee and threatening world-renowned vineyards, according to CalFire. Both fires were listed at zero containment as of Monday evening. The cause of each was under investigation. They marked the latest flashpoints in a destructive spate of wildfires this summer across the Western United States. In California this year, wildfires have scorched 3.7 million acres (1.5 million hectares) since January - far exceeding any single year in state history. They have been stoked by intense, prolonged bouts of heat, high winds and other weather extremes that scientists attribute to climate change. More than 7,000 homes and other structures have burned statewide so far this year. LANDMARK CHATEAU BURNS The Glass Fire broke out in Napa Valley before dawn near Calistoga before merging with two other blazes into a larger eruption of flames straddling western Napa County and an adjacent swath of Sonoma County. In one notable property loss, the mansion-like Chateau Boswell winery in St. Helena - a familiar landmark along the Silverado Trail road running the length of the Napa Valley - went up in flames on Sunday night. Also read: Wildfire smoke from US crosses the Atlantic Ocean; seen in parts of Finland, UK An estimated 60,000 residents have been placed under evacuation orders or advisories in Sonoma and Napa counties combined, but no injuries have been reported. Not everyone heeded evacuation orders. As neighbors around him fled, Santa Rosa resident Jas Sihota perched himself on his front porch with a garden hose, darting out every 15 minutes or so to douse nearby spot fires seeded by wind-blown embers under a hazy red sun. Sihota, a radiology technician at a nearby hospital, said he had not slept in some 24 hours. "I wouldn't have a house if I didn't stay," said Sihota. At least 10 homes elsewhere on the street beyond the reach of his hose were destroyed. In 2017, roughly 5% of Santa Rosa's homes were lost when downed power lines sparked a devastating firestorm in October that swept the region, killing 19 people. HARVEST SEASON SMOKE The Glass Fire struck about midway through the region's traditional grape-harvesting season, already disrupted by a spate of large fires earlier this summer. Several Napa Valley growers said recently they would forgo a 2020 vintage altogether due to smoke contamination of ripening grapes waiting to be picked. The 475 vintners in Napa Valley alone account for just 4% of the state's grape harvest but half the retail value of all California wines sold. Sonoma County, too, has become a premiere viticulture region with some 450 wineries and a million acres of vineyards. The full impact on the region's wine business remains to be seen and will differ for each grower, depending on how far along they are in the harvest, said Teresa Wall, spokeswoman for the Napa Valley Vintners trade group. "There are some who were close to wrapping up, and some who were still planning to leave their grapes hanging out there for a while," she said. The fires caused major upheavals for the area's most vulnerable residents already grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. The Adventist Health St. Helena hospital was forced to evacuate patients on Sunday, the second time in a month following a lightning-sparked wildfire in August. On Monday, residents at Oakmont Gardens, a Santa Rosa retirement community, leaned on walkers and waited to board a bus taking them to safety, their face masks doubling as protection against smoke and COVID-19. Over 100,000 homes and business have suffered power outages across northern California since Sunday, some from precautionary shutoffs of transmission lines to reduce wildfire risks in the midst of extremely windy, hot, dry weather, Pacific Gas and Electric Co reported. Red-flag warnings for extreme wildfire risks remained posted for much of Northern California, forecasting low humidity and gale-force wind gusts.

Northern California wildfires kill 3, force evacuation of thousands

US: Northern California wildfires kill 3, force evacuation of thousands

A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday (September 27) in the heart of northern California's Napa Valley wine country and spread across more than 1,000 acres (404 hectares), forcing the evacuation of several hundreds homes and a hospital, authorities said.

California wine country wildfire forces rapid evacuation

A raging pandemic along side apparent changes in climate may sound like a deadly combo, but it’s our contemporary reality.

While wildfires ravaged parts of Oregon, California, and Washington in the United States, its effects are now being felt across the pond. The wildfires in the US have worsened air quality and evacuated thousands of people.

Europe eclipsed

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the impact of these fires is now being felt across the Atlantic Ocean, ranging as far as Finland.&nbsp;

On Monday, the organisation shared a map showing particulate matter from the wildfires eclipsing the southern areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, along with some parts of the United Kingdom.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The smoke from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CaliforniaFires?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CaliforniaFires</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OregonFires?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OregonFires</a> has crossed the Atlantic and reached <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Finland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Finland</a>. 
Aerosol optical depth from <a href="https://twitter.com/CopernicusECMWF?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CopernicusECMWF</a> Atmosphere Monitoring Service<a href="https://t.co/JP0iRGp5aV">https://t.co/JP0iRGp5aV</a> <a href="https://t.co/esV3fATKUC">pic.twitter.com/esV3fATKUC</a>
— World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/WMO/status/1307990230696431617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The fires had eclipsed the United States last week, hazing cities, and making air quality unfit for humans.

Even though the particulate matter may not be felt by people on the ground, its gradual impact on the air quality will be evident.

NASA had shown projections last week about particulate matter from the wildfire smoke affecting almost every state in the US.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/firefighters-in-us-northwest-aided-by-weather-as-winds-drive-california-blaze-328772" hreflang="en">Firefighters in US northwest aided by weather, as winds drive California blaze</a>

San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland witnessed improvement in air quality in recent days, with weather patterns flushing the wildfire smoke to the east.&nbsp;

Earlier, millions were exposed to unhealthy air after fires fuelled by lightning wreaked havoc in August. The damage was doubled due to the fires that followed in Washington and Oregon.&nbsp;

California’s “Bobcat Fire” is currently the most active fire scene in the US. It has toasted 165 square miles. This makes it one the largest fires ever in Los Angeles County.

Just this year alone, California has witnessed some of its largest wildfires ever!

A raging pandemic along side apparent changes in climate may sound like a deadly combo, but it’s our contemporary reality. While wildfires ravaged parts of Oregon, California, and Washington in the United States, its effects are now being felt across the pond.

A raging pandemic along side apparent changes in climate may sound like a deadly combo, but it’s our contemporary reality. While wildfires ravaged parts of Oregon, California, and Washington in the United States, its effects are now being felt across the pond. The wildfires in the US have worsened air quality and evacuated thousands of people. Europe eclipsed According to the World Meteorological Organization, the impact of these fires is now being felt across the Atlantic Ocean, ranging as far as Finland. On Monday, the organisation shared a map showing particulate matter from the wildfires eclipsing the southern areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, along with some parts of the United Kingdom. The smoke from the #CaliforniaFires #OregonFires has crossed the Atlantic and reached #Finland. Aerosol optical depth from @CopernicusECMWF Atmosphere Monitoring Servicehttps://t.co/JP0iRGp5aV pic.twitter.com/esV3fATKUC — World Meteorological Organization (@WMO) September 21, 2020 × The fires had eclipsed the United States last week, hazing cities, and making air quality unfit for humans. Even though the particulate matter may not be felt by people on the ground, its gradual impact on the air quality will be evident. NASA had shown projections last week about particulate matter from the wildfire smoke affecting almost every state in the US. Also read: Firefighters in US northwest aided by weather, as winds drive California blaze San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland witnessed improvement in air quality in recent days, with weather patterns flushing the wildfire smoke to the east. Earlier, millions were exposed to unhealthy air after fires fuelled by lightning wreaked havoc in August. The damage was doubled due to the fires that followed in Washington and Oregon. California’s “Bobcat Fire” is currently the most active fire scene in the US. It has toasted 165 square miles. This makes it one the largest fires ever in Los Angeles County. Just this year alone, California has witnessed some of its largest wildfires ever!

Wildfire smoke from US crosses the Atlantic Ocean; seen in parts of Finland, UK

Wildfires have always been a part of life on the West Coast, in particular, where urban areas and forests closely abut each other and the climate inland is arid.

According to experts Climate Change is responsible for wildfires in US; Know the Science behind it

As deadly wildfires rage across the U.S. West, millions of people have been left struggling with some of the world's worst air pollution. Enormous plumes of ash and smoke have spread from the region, where nearly 5 million acres were ablaze on Wednesday (September 15), compounding the public health crisis of the coronavirus pandemic.

Headaches and hospital visits as wildfire smoke blankets Western United States

Thousands of evacuees displaced by deadly wildfires in Oregon settled into the second week of life in shelters and car camping on Tuesday as fire crews battled on, and search teams scoured the ruins of incinerated homes for the missing. Firefighters never saw anything like the wildfires that have ripped through Oregon and devastated their own communities.

US: Oregon firefighters describe battling historic wildfires

Apocalyptic drone video has emerged showing patches of red fire retardant blanketing whole neighbourhoods in Talent - block after block of homes completely burned to the ground.

Drone video shows apocalyptic scenes of Oregon city nearly wiped out by wildfire

Thousands of evacuees displaced by deadly wildfires in Oregon settled into a second week of life in shelters and car camping on Tuesday as fire crews battled on, and search teams scoured the ruins of incinerated homes for the missing.

US: Wildfires scorched close to 5 million acres

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