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https://theconversation.com/fires-used-to-terrify-city-residents-new-research-suggests-climate-change-could-see-this-fear-return-251056>
"For centuries, fire was one of the major fears for city-dwellers. Dense cities
built largely of wood could – and did – burn. In 1666, a fire in a bakery went
on to destroy two-thirds of the city of London, leaving 85% of residents
homeless. In 1871, fire burned out huge areas of Chicago. In World War II,
bombing raids by Allied forces largely destroyed cities such as Dresden in
Germany and Tokyo in Japan.
The threat of large-scale urban fires drove authorities to spend more on urban
firefighting and require buildings to use less flammable material. Fire alarms,
fire engines and automatic sprinklers have done much to reduce the chance of
uncontrolled spread.
But will our sense of safety endure in the age of climate change? In January,
we saw swathes of Los Angeles burn – even in the northern winter. Driven by low
humidity and high winds, numerous large fires encroached on the city,
destroying outlying suburbs. Climate change made the fires worse, according to
climate scientists.
Now we have new research on the question of whether climate change will make
large city fires more likely. A research team from China, Singapore and
Australia have gathered a decade’s worth of data on fires from almost 3,000
cities in 20 nations, home to one-fifth of the world’s population.
The researchers found for every 1°C increase in air temperature, outdoor fires
(rubbish and landfill) increase 4.7% and vehicle fires 2.5%. If the world
accelerates its burning of fossil fuels under a high emissions scenario
compatible with a 4.3°C temperature rise by century’s end, outdoor fires in
cities would soar 22% and vehicle fires 11%. But building fires are projected
to actually fall 5%. Thankfully, this emissions scenario is now less likely."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
