Lately, you must have paid attention to the posts on social networks about forest fires in different regions of the world, in particular, about the fire of a truck with straw in our Urgut region. How harmful are these fires and their smoke to the atmosphere? What are the actual factors that cause them?

    A huge threat to the Earth's atmosphere is posed by forest fires that are observed throughout our planet. In addition to environmental pollution, human health is also at risk. Moreover, the warming of climatic indicators by an average of 1.1 degrees over the past 5 years causes fires and other emergencies, and in the next 1.5 centuries, serious problems associated with them worry humanity.

    For example, in California in 2021, one of the largest wildfires in US history occurred. The cause of this natural disaster was also climate change. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said 2.5 million acres were ash, 3,629 buildings were damaged or destroyed, and a total of 8,619 cases were reported. The death of three people as a result of forest fires in California should not leave us indifferent. Overall, last year it was reported that wildfires in North America released 83 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere.

    In countries adjacent to the eastern and central Mediterranean, severe forest fires occurred in July and August, with increased concentrations of fine particulate matter and increased levels of air pollution. In the summer of 2021, Turkey mobilized all forces to protect wildlife and extinguish fires. In August last year, a total of 209 forest fires occurred in 47 provinces of Turkey in 10 days. At least 28 people have died in the wildfires that started in southwestern Turkey on July 8, according to official figures.

    Forest fires did not bypass Russia in 2021: in August, a total of 128 forest fires were observed in 20 regions. Fires were recorded on an area of ​​more than 1.5 million hectares. More than 7,000 firefighters and rescuers, as well as 1,283 pieces of equipment and 27 aircraft are involved in extinguishing the fire. The government has declared a state of emergency in six regions.

    Forest fires cause serious damage to natural ecosystems. This creates economic and social problems. They can lead to the loss of biodiversity and the habitat of many species, property and even human lives. For example, if we admit that there are more than 1 million mollusks, more than 2.5 million worms, 6 million insects, etc., on 1 hectare of forest, it is easy to imagine how terrible a forest fire will be.

    Forest fires start not only with fire, but also with the fact that they cause serious damage to human health through various gases and other emissions. When analyzing the growth of forest fires, we must take into account several aspects. One of them is climate change. With changing weather conditions, the land becomes more and more, therefore, there are more conditions for the spread of fire. The global rise in temperature and the frequency and intensity of drought are causing fire to reach green spaces that were never accessible due to moisture and shade. Currently, the harvesting of grain crops continues in the regions. In this regard, the topical issue is the preservation of wheat plantations from fires and the application of measures to combat them.

    In addition, grain harvesting begins in our country these days. At this time, responsible persons are required to strictly comply with safety regulations.

    Another reason for the rise in wildfires is the abandoned and fuel-filled rural environment. Man left the countryside, moving to big cities. This causes natural ecosystems to become unbalanced and this is due to lack and lack of management, leading to large forest fires. This will be due to the accumulation of a large amount of ground vegetation near residential buildings. This also leaves natural and artificial landscapes without green cover, which intensifies the process of desertification in them, etc. Thus, based on the above, we see that any fire, especially forest fire, causes serious damage to Mother Nature.

 

Ergash Kobilov, Head of the Department of Ecology and Life Safety of Samgu, Professor,

Khidir Botirov, professor of Samgu,

Sarvar Ashurmakhmetov, master of Samgu.