Peru Struggles to Fight Deadly Wildfires
TimeSEP 2024
Climate change is quite literally burning South America to the ground, leaving millions of acres of land charred and animals at risk of extinction. This is an international problem that requires an international solution, including bans on fossil fuel burning and commitments to protecting Indigenous populations. If governments fail to do this, entire generations of animals and humans will face the consequences.
As the media publish flashy headlines to make us think the entire world is on fire, the truth is that we've actually seen a decrease in global burned areas over the past two decades. While North and South America have certainly seen an increase in fires due to particular weather patters, the same is not true for Africa and Europe. The solution is better land management, not overhauling the energy system.
There is a 50% chance that wildfires destroy a total exceeding 10M hectares of global tree cover in any year before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.