THE environmental impact of Scotland’s recent wildfire epidemic has been “severe”, an MSP has warned.
Over the last several weeks, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has battled dozens of wildfires across the country, with evacuations taking place in some areas.
Just yesterday, firefighters were at the scene of a forest wildfire for a fourth day.
The blaze in Culbin Forest, near Forres in Moray, has affected an area the size of some 900 football pitches.
“Images of the recent wildfires across Scotland are harrowing,” Mark Ruskell told The National.
The Scottish Greens MSP added: “Forests ablaze, scorched earth stripped of its nature, and homes and businesses put at risk. The impact to our environment, its fragile ecosystems, and the plant and wildlife that rely on it, is severe.”
Ruskell also highlighted the particular danger in Scotland given our extensive amount of peatland.
Scottish peatlands store a gigantic 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to 140 years of Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“In 2019, a wildfire on Europe’s largest peatland in Caithness and Sutherland doubled Scotland’s climate emissions for the days it burned, highlighting the special risks posed in Scotland,” Ruskell said.
“We must redouble our efforts to restore and rewet peatlands, minimising the risk of flooding and wildfires while locking up emissions.
“Record heat, sun and lack of rainfall have all contributed as climate breakdown moves from warnings to reality. Without fundamental change, the threat, and the cost of dealing with it, will only become more severe.”
Academics have warned that wildfires are simply “the new normal” in Scotland and will become a more frequent occurrence as a result of climate change.
Already last month, the area of the UK burnt by wildfires was already higher than the total for any year since 2012, according to satellite data.
More than 29,200 hectares (292 sq km or 113 sq miles) was burnt as of April 27, according to figures from the Global Wildfire Information System.
