Israel Wildfires

Recently during the past week in Israel, there was a huge wildfire disaster that began in the forests near the Carmel Mountains. This fire is now spreading to the outskirts of Haifa and has already burned 3,700 acres of land. The fire has also killed 40 people and is still spreading. Over 15,000 people have been evacuated from the villages and towns that are near the area. Many articles have said that this fire has been expected due to the climate effects in the Mediterranean. With the climate rising and the decreased rainfall, the risk of having a forest fire in this area has increased tremendously overtime. According to Israel’s National Report on Climate Change, the frequency and intensity of the wildfires have been increasing more and more as an outcome of the longer droughts, rise in water evaporation, making everything much drier, and the increase in the heat waves. All of these combined make areas dry and hot causing the spread of the fires.

The Carmel Mountain Range normally receives at an average of 800 mm of rainfall per year. Before the wildfire that recently occurred in the mountains, there was a drought period of eight months and during this period there was a heat wave that occurred with temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius. Without this rainfall, the area has become much drier causing the wildfire to occur.

During this Earth Science course, we have learned about climate change and what has caused the temperatures in most places around the world to rise. We have learned that humans have a huge role in the climate change that is occurring. Since the Industrial Revolution, people have been using fossil fuels more and turning to industrial factories to produce products. This uses a lot of energy and also gives off a lot of pollution and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has partially caused the climate to change. These problems have led to the disastrous events that have occurred, such as the Israel wildfire.

Whenever I hear of climate change I always think of the ways humans are actually affecting the atmosphere themselves. This is causing many severe events worldwide that have killed and could killed hundreds of people. We need to control the energy we use and the carbon dioxide we put in the atmosphere. We are only harming ourselves and our future. The wildfires in Israel may be hard to control now, but they could have been controlled several years ago by the conservation of resources and the awareness of the world. We need to do something about the climate change, or as time goes on, the disasters will just get worse and worse. If we do not do anything about the increase in climate change, the people will be the reason why we will not be able to live in this world any longer.

By: Kayla Haskin

Work Cited

Fire Disaster in Israel Is a Typical Example of Expected Climate Change Effects in the

Mediterranean." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment &

Technology. Science Daily, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2010.

Stanley, Deb. "Beloved Denver Rabbi, Teacher Killed In Israel Wildfire - Denver News Story –

KMGH Denver." Denver News, Denver, Colorado News, Weather, and Sports - KMGH

Denver's Channel 7. CNN, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Dec. 2010.