Reacción a "Reactions to the wave of wildfires in the Iberian Peninsula"

Under such extreme weather conditions of heat, dryness and, in some cases, more wind, it is easier for fires to become more virulent: faster, more intense and, therefore, more dangerous and difficult to control.  

For a fire to start, we need three ingredients: something to start it (ignition source), vegetation to feed it, and weather conditions that make the vegetation dry enough to burn. Heat waves facilitate this third ingredient. In addition, these heat waves often involve thunderstorms which, when not accompanied by rain, are important ignition sources.  

Fortunately, it seems that this heat wave is now subsiding, so hopefully the fire situation will improve as well. What happens for the rest of the summer will depend on how many more heat waves come. We've had three already and we haven't even finished July.  

Climate change has already increased the meteorological risk of fires around the world. For example, in the Mediterranean basin, the extreme fire weather risk (associated with heat waves like the ones we are experiencing) has doubled in the last 40 years. Moreover, the fire season has now been extended by almost a month. This means that climate change is facilitating more and more severe fires. But it is not just a question of climate change; rural abandonment in our country is leading to more vegetation in our landscape and more continuous vegetation. It is the combination of more vegetation and more heat that triggers disastrous situations like the ones we are seeing now.  

As for the sources of ignition, the natural origin is always lightning and, in some areas of Spain, this cause is quite frequent. But in many regions of our country, most fires are of human origin, either by accident or negligence or by arson caused by arsonists. It is essential to understand these causes and try to limit them as much as possible. For example, by prohibiting certain outdoor activities when the risk of fire is extreme (e.g. barbecues or working with spark-generating machinery). In the case of arson, it is a very complex issue. People always talk about increasing the legal penalties but that cannot be the only solution because proving that someone was at fault in the first place is extremely difficult. In my opinion, we have to work with and from the rural population to try to solve it.