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Flamin' Hot
It's Forest Fire Season in the Med and beyond
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Mediterranean Europe is being hit by its usual spate of forest fires, doubtless exacerbated by Global Warming. Dozens of fires in Galicia (Spain) - one recent report mentions 39 put out and another 60 still ablaze - and in Northern & Central Portugal another dozen, some apparently started by arsonists, as are an estimated 20-30% of all such fires. Some are started by drunks, others by the typical destructive outsider you might imagine from too many TV dramas - and others, said a Spanish source, by men hoping to be employed to put them out!
"There's a lot of money in putting out fires," said Environment Minister Cristina Narbona.
Further afield, in Indonesia, especially Sumatra and Borneo it's burning time again too. The smoke causes problems (and affects tourist numbers) as far away as Malaysia and Singapore. The worst cases out here are where a fire takes on an area of cleared peatland forests. Once these areas are drained, the peat is highly inflammable and produces more smoke and carbon emissions than other soil types. "The peat can be anything up to 10 metres thick, says Nazir Foead of WWF Indonesia: "Any fire will take almost impossible efforts to put out."
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