The person who wrote the headline for this Canadian news release obviously has a sense of humor. But the subject of the release - a new report from researchers at the University of Alberta - offers some serious predictions about global wildfires over the next 100 years.
The study predicts the severity of wildfires will grow by three times in the next century. Fires are also expected to occur more often and with greater intensity. Wildfire seasons in some parts of the world could grow by nearly three weeks.
By showing “the extent of the increasing length of the fire season and the increasing fire weather severity", authors say the study is a first of its kind.
The report says to combat what's coming, people will have to adapt.
The study notes four factors that strongly influence fire – fuels, ignition agents, climate/weather and people but adds that we cannot change the weather, nor can we significantly modify lightning activity. The remaining options are to reduce human-caused ignitions (through education, restricting or excluding the use of fire and by rigorous enforcement of existing policies) and to modify fuels. The authors note that fuels cannot be treated on a global scale but could be treated on a local level near areas of high value. - University of Alberta
The study appears in a special issue of Forest Ecology and Management.