Military Space News
FIRE STORM
Forest fire risks mount in drought-hit Nordic nations
Forest fire risks mount in drought-hit Nordic nations
By Camille BAS-WOHLERT
Lynge, Denmark (AFP) June 16, 2023
"I need water", pleads farmer Lars Jonsson, casting a desperate eye over a parched field in eastern Denmark where the only shade is that cast by wind turbines.

Across the northern hemisphere, the start of summer has been marked by extreme weather conditions, from megafires in Canada to drought in Spain.

Even Northern Europe, typically known for its mild climate, has experienced an unseasonally dry spring and early summer, with experts warning of a high risk of forest fires like those that ravaged central Sweden in 2018.

"I'm very concerned about the weather because it's very, very dry now," Jonsson says.

"I check my phone for the weather forecast too many times a day in the hope of maybe a little rain in the next week," he says, smartphone in hand.

There's been little rain this spring and none at all since May 23, and now his grain crops are 25 percent shorter than normal.

According to European monitoring service Copernicus, 90 percent of Denmark was affected by drought at the end of May.

"Look, the roots are almost dried out," 62-year-old Jonsson says as he pulls up a plant.

He has run a pork and grain farm north of Copenhagen since 1989. Part of his barley crop is sold to Danish brewer Carlsberg.

His barley production will be 30 percent lower than last year because of the drought, he said.

And his losses will depend on the autumn's grain prices.

"I hope the price will go a little higher so my bottom line is okay. But if the price stays the same my bottom line will be no good."

Jonsson may have to let go of one of his two employees, as in 2018.

He says his region has until now largely been spared the effects of climate change.

- Scandinavian sunflowers? -

Higher temperatures have been the most tangible impact.

"It's much warmer... I have to look at what I will be planting in my fields in the future," says Jonsson, who also grows rye and wheat in a region were grain irrigation is prohibited.

He may have to start growing crops typically associated with more southern regions.

"Maybe some of the things you have in France such as sunflowers or soy or soybeans. Maybe I can grow these in Denmark."

"We don't think of Denmark as dried out," says Jens Hesselbjerg, a University of Copenhagen climatologist.

"Drought has not been considered as one of the outcomes of climate change, we have rather focused a lot in Denmark on extreme precipitation."

While experts have regularly mentioned drought as a possible consequence of climate change, "they didn't think it would happen here".

- 'Increasingly frequent' droughts -

Yet periods without rain have grown longer and more frequent in the Scandinavian country of 5.9 million people.

Authorities are now urging people to limit water usage and have banned open fires in the wild.

Concerns are also mounting north of Denmark.

According to Copernicus, 51 percent of of Finland is affected by drought and 48 percent of Sweden -- where memories are still fresh of the 2018 blazes that claimed some 25,000 hectares of woodland.

Swedish Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said Thursday authorities were "on their toes" and better equipped now to fight fires and help farmers.

According to climatologist Gustav Strandberg, Sweden is experiencing the driest start to June in "at least 20 years".

In Finland, temperatures hovered this week around 30C in Helsinki, far above normal, with the risk of forest fires in southwestern areas "quite high".

"For an early summer drought, this is a pretty tough one," meteorologist Tuomo Bergman told AFP.

Norway is also experiencing an unusual dry spell, despite the fact that climate change has led to a 20 percent overall increase in precipitation since 1900, according to the Norwegian environment agency.

"It rains more but it's more concentrated, not spread out over time like we would need," meteorologist Hakon Mjelstad told AFP.

"There's a lot one week, then nothing for a month."

Forest fire warnings have been raised to the highest level in large parts of southern and southeastern Norway, with all open fires except for backyard barbecues prohibited.

"Dry summers like the one that we are expecting ... used to be rare," said Mjelstad.

"But they will become increasingly frequent. Simply because it is getting warmer" on Earth.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
FIRE STORM
Carbon monoxide from fires in Canada
Paris (ESA) Jun 16, 2023
As climate change increases the risk of wildfires across the globe, the spate of fires that hit Canada in May and June suggest that 2023 is on course to be the country's worst fire season to date. These fires not only pose a serious threat to human life, wildlife, the environment and property, they also affect air quality. Using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission, the image shows the average concentration of carbon monoxide for 1 May to 13 June. The extremely high concentrations, which a ... read more

FIRE STORM
Europeans scramble on air defence after decades of complacency

Ukraine's allies to supply more air defence missiles

Germany approves funds to buy Israeli air defence system

Germany moves to buy Israeli anti-missile shield for 4bn euros

FIRE STORM
North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles

Deadly Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine

Iran unveils hypersonic missile hailing deterrent boost

FAAD C2 System supporting air defense across Baltics

FIRE STORM
Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Flying Test Bed Demonstrates Targeting Capability During Northern Edge 2023

Iran helping Russia build military drone factory, White House says

Drone-wielding 'Santa' saves Ukraine family from flood

NASA research gathers key radar data for autonomous air cargo delivery

FIRE STORM
Luxembourg Parliament Approves MGS, Enabling NATO's Access to SES's O3b mPOWER System

Final Ariane 5 Flight Will Carry German Communications Satellite Into Space

OneWeb and Eutelsat demonstrate global connectivity solution to NATO

Viasat selected by AFRL to deliver space relay communications for multi-orbit mission

FIRE STORM
Making the 'connected battlespace' a reality

MARSS passes major milestone in multi-site defence project in the middle east

PathFinder Digital receives additional orders under DLA IDIQ Contract

AFWERX announces new Mantra, Mission and Vision Statement

FIRE STORM
Arab states account for quarter of record Israel arms exports

Pentagon pledges $2.1 billion military aid package for Ukraine

UK court rejects bid for legal review of Saudi arms sales

US and India agree defence industry cooperation plan

FIRE STORM
Ukraine won't have 'easy' path to join NATO: Biden

NATO to tighten Ukraine ties, but no membership invite at summit

Blinken talks to Japanese, S.Korean counterparts ahead of China trip

Xi Jinping meets with 'old friend' Bill Gates in Beijing

FIRE STORM
Single-molecule valve: a breakthrough in nanoscale control

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2026 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.