'Stop burning fossil fuels'; Scientists say this is the only solution to Canada's wildfires

 

 

Climate scientists say that the only solution to avoid the threat of severe smog spreading in Canadian cities due to wildfires is to stop the use of fossil fuels. Although it is possible to protect residential areas using existing firefighting systems, experts point out that it is not practical to completely extinguish the wildfires that are spreading across Canada. In the context of wildfire smoke in Canada crossing the border and spreading to American cities and large cities like Toronto, US representatives are demanding that the Canadian government take strict action against it.

Even a slight increase in temperature due to global warming is causing the number of wildfires and their intensity to increase many times. Temperatures in Canada are rising twice as fast as the global average. In the Canadian Arctic, it is four times faster. As temperatures rise, plants and trees in forests dry out faster, creating favorable conditions for wildfires to spread. The strong El Niño phenomenon is also contributing to this. Melting Arctic ice could release large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane that have been trapped underground for decades into the atmosphere. This could further increase global warming.

A major 2023 study found that the world's 88 largest fossil fuel companies are directly responsible for the wildfires in the American forests and southwestern Canada. Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan, reminds us that the only way to prevent further smog is to reduce carbon emissions globally.