Scorched southwestern France braces for fires to come
STORY: This is what remains of a forest outside the town of Hostens, in southwestern France.
A wildfire erupted here in July 2022.
Eight months later the land still smoulders away underground, caused by the brown coal in the area's peaty soil.
"We have to make sure that fires can't start again from these hot spots."
The blaze at Hostens is a remnant of huge wildfires that ravaged southern Europe in summer 2022.
Worst drought on record was compounded by successive heatwaves which scientists say are consistent with climate change.
The Gironde region in southwest of France was particularly badly hit with more than 49,000 acres of forest destroyed.
And the risk of renewed fires is a great concern.
Guillaume Carnir works for France’s National Forest Agency.
"The risks, now that everything is exploited around it, are minimized because there is less flammable material all around, on the massif, as there are large areas that have been cut down. But there are still some green patches and there is all the vegetation that will come back in the spring which will be flammable."
The fire in Hostens is under constant surveillance from drones measuring heat levels.
That's according to Pascale Got, a local official in charge of environmental protection.
"We are now coming to a period where spring fires can break out. So obviously we need an urgent response from the government on aerial assets and we can no longer sail by sight."
An unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe has reduced moisture in the soil.
It raises fears of a repeat of 2022, when almost 2 million acres of land were destroyed.
That's according to European Commission statistics.
Governments are, therefore, working out how to make forests and woodlands more resilient to climate change.
Over in Gironde, the wildfires that surrounded the town of Origne and displaced its inhabitants last July are long extinguished.
But Mayor Vincent Dedieu could not hide his sadness while looking at the wide empty land.
"Today, we have lost all our landmarks because today, you see, it's completely lunar. We're in this somewhat deserted landscape. I said it before: we'll have the shock of burnt trees but we'll also have the shock when the trees are gone."
相關影片推薦
- 2:44北京電動車展登場 中國品牌「內卷」大戰 117款新車首度亮相Yahoo奇摩(國際通)15,506 次觀看・17 小時前
- 1:39世界第一台獲認證飛行車AirCar 喜迎首名乘客 將在中國生產 售價1629萬起Yahoo奇摩(國際通)10,511 次觀看・14 小時前
- 1:44壽豐鄉地震找嘸人! 鄉長出國考察惹民怨|#鏡新聞鏡新聞9,828 次觀看・9 小時前
- 1:46百年米粉廠食安出包 炊粉遭控藏「老鼠屎」.業者:異物疏失華視影音11,281 次觀看・16 小時前
- 1:26女長期睡機場又大鬧國門 不聽勸阻遭警驅離東森新聞影音321,966 次觀看・1 天前
- 2:42一分鐘報天氣 / 週六 (04/27) 鋒面系統影響 持續短暫陣雨或雷雨 留意局部較大雨勢發生Yahoo奇摩新聞(報氣象)3,644 次觀看・13 小時前
- 1:582024環球小姐取消年齡上限 阿根廷60歲佳麗驚歎出線 爭取為國爭光Yahoo奇摩(國際通)23,070 次觀看・17 小時前
- 1:43外包司機害命警網追 3公里外交流道棄車逃亡|#鏡新聞鏡新聞15,874 次觀看・9 小時前
- 1:09《淚之女王》即將大結局!預告搶先看 金秀賢一句話讓金智媛瞬間愣住了娛樂星聞7,041 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:56新北議會衝突!陳明義兒2022選同區 早與蔣根煌結樑子民視影音100,861 次觀看・2 天前
熱門必看
- 12:45心理測驗:你愛上同性的機率?唐老師一時口誤節目差點變18禁!?Ep.215-2唐綺陽談星室32,093 次觀看・3 天前
- 14:25昏暗老公寓化身質感美宅 空間感、採光起死回生簡直魔法Yahoo創作摩人7,772 次觀看・2 天前
- 0:18傳承老一輩甜品作法,最純粹的美味!板橋Edenx食旅23,440 次觀看・3 天前
- 16:22『橫濱一日遊』帥爆!見鋼彈最後一面!人也排到爆的橫濱家系拉麵!生日圓夢之旅最終章!戴妮塔 Nita & Dai's Daily5,313 次觀看・22 小時前
- 31:57【日本自由行】大阪→廣島5天4夜完整攻略🤩萬博紀念公園、姬路城、嚴島神社、和平紀念公園、廣島紙鶴塔、岡山倉敷美觀、大倉酒店、八天堂|日本旅遊・Japan 4K vlog吉田社長交朋友16,142 次觀看・4 天前