Without a doubt, climate change is a common issue for the whole world to focus on. It is always right beside us and appears in different forms. For example, the rise in global temperatures, which are now 1.2 degrees Celcius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, is both heating up the Earth and destabilizing it. The number and effects of climate change related events are increasing day by day.

For sure, one of the main effects is the constantly increasing temperatures. In many parts of the world, this summer's heat is breaking records. Another problem caused by dry and hot air combined with low humidity is forest fires. The fires in Australia, California and Siberia that lasted for months are an indication of this. The Mediterranean Basin countries, which are expected to be the most impacted by the acute effects of climate change, are currently suffering from such forest fires. Italy, Greece, Spain, Algeria and Turkey have been dealing with a great disaster for days. The slightest spark opens the door to a catastrophe these days, where temperatures occasionally reach 45-50 degrees Celcius (113-122 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity levels are below 10%.

Lives are burning, black smoke clouds the air, rising over our forests, endangering trees and plant life. However, an ecosystem without plants cannot survive for long.

Trees make up the majority of plants. Even a single tree has dozens of benefits, so much so that a single adult tree with leaves can meet the daily oxygen needs of 2 to 10 people. They absorb carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas, and keep our world cool. According to World Resources Institute (WRI) assessments, forests absorb 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide globally. This value is equivalent to 1.5 times the annual carbon emissions of the United States. Trees also play an active role in the water cycle through sweating and contribute to the cooling of the environment by absorbing thermal energy present in the environment.

Unfortunately, we are destroying these unique treasures with our own hands, sometimes to create settlements and sometimes to open lands up for agriculture. Sometimes we sacrifice these natural miracles for a comfortable life. We use trees with impunity for new furniture, for wooden dwellings, for wood-based structures.

According to the data of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 15 billion trees are cut down worldwide annually for the production of paper and timber. Only 5 billion new ones are planted to replace the lost ones. Therefore, we wipe out 10 billion trees from the Earth's surface every year.

According to the World Forest Outlook 2020 (SOFO2020) Report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 420 million hectares (1.04 billion acres) of forested area has been lost in the last 30 years due to different uses. Forests are known as the most effective and low-cost method in combating today's global climate crisis.

Another problem that destroys our precious forests is fire. Again, according to the SOFO 2020 report, approximately 100 million hectares of land have been damaged by fires in the last 30 years. There are certain causes and triggering elements that lead to a fire. These can be natural causes such as lightning, or human-led causes such as cigarette butts or barbecues. Sometimes there are sabotages that aim to shake the integrity of a country.

There has been another factor that we cannot ignore: global climate change. Fire is difficult to control under favorable conditions. The conditions that lead to an uncontrollable situation are extreme heat, droughts due to heat, low humidity and a decrease in precipitation. The prominent factor among these is the extreme heat or heat waves that we encounter more frequently because of climate change.

The world's fire seasons

In the fires that took place in California this year, which have continued for weeks, 1 million hectares of land have turned to ash so far. The Siberian fires in Russia have become unstoppable. Forested land was damaged in fires in Australia that started in July 2019 and lasted for about eight months. The main reason for the fire's growth was shown to be long-lasting high temperatures and droughts.

The amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere from the fires over a period of approximately nine months was calculated as 434 million tons. This value is equivalent to Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions in the same period. It was determined that around 1 billion animals were killed or injured by the fires. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, the Mediterranean Basin, which includes our country, is among the areas that will be most affected by the negative effects of climate change. Droughts, heatwaves, fires, floods and tornadoes are among the events that have begun to occur more frequently in Turkey recently.

The event with the biggest impact among these was undoubtedly the fires the country recently experienced. According to data from the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), while there has been an increase in the number of fires in Turkey over the years, there has been a decrease in the total area damaged by these fires. While the number of forest fires that occurred in the 1940s was around 1,000, this number has reached 3,500 today.

Effective crisis management

Turkey is going through difficult times due to;