Thousands have been evacuated from southern France as wildfires take over the country.
By Donovan Martin
An intense heatwave has been terrorizing Europe, sparking wildfires across Europe. Across southern Europe and the Mediterranean, temperatures have been upwards of 40 degrees. France is one of the many countries whose plant life caught fire due to the intense heat and dryness of the air.
Over 900 firefighters and 120 gendarmes (a branch of the French military) were deployed to help combat the tall flames from the Var region to the west of Saint-Tropez. Water-dropping aircraft took to the skies as thousands of civilians fled. Thankfully, there have been no civilian casualties as of August 17, 2021, yet 5000 hectares of forests and shrubland have been engulfed in flames.
The fires in France as well as the Medditarean fires and Southern European massive heatwaves, come mere weeks after the floods in Central Europe, deluges in China, and wildfires in North America. They are all undeniably a direct result of climate change. As per the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) report, fossil fuel production and use are increasing our planet to an unliveable temperature.
“The changes that we have seen so far are associated with around 1 degree C of warming. Limiting warming to the 1.5 degree C target of the Paris Agreement would require immediate, rapid, and large-scale reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” Said Professor Mathew Barlow, Ph.D. in climate science. “However, regardless of any specific temperature target, every degree matters: Reducing emissions will reduce impacts.”
The planet is suffering. If immediate action is not taken to halt and then stop the use and production of fossil fuels, everyone will suffer the consequences.
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