開普敦將迎來有史以來最嚴重的火災季

開普敦將迎來有史以來最嚴重的火災季

Experts predict that Cape Town and surrounding areas in South Africa may experience their worst fire season as a result of the climate crisis and rising temperatures. Newlands, Hout Bay and Constantia are the areas most at risk.

專家預測，由于氣候危機和氣溫上升，開普敦和南非周邊地區(qū)可能經(jīng)歷最嚴重的火災季節(jié)。紐蘭茲、豪特灣和康斯坦蒂亞是最危險的地區(qū)。

Community-focused environmental non-profit, Parkscape explains that climate change is the biggest factor in the increase in fire risks.

以社區(qū)為中心的非盈利環(huán)保組織Parkscape解釋說，氣候變化是火災風險增加的最大因素。

"Climate crisis is probably the most significant driver of the risk – longer and hotter summers, drier winters, and prolonged periods of drought.” says Parkscape Chairperson, Nicky Schmidt.

他說:“氣候危機可能是造成這種風險的最主要原因，那就是夏季更長、更熱、冬季更干燥和長期干旱。Parkscape主席尼基·施密特說。

Professor Coert Geldenhuys from Stellenbosch University's Forest and Wood Science Department, said that because of the drier conditions people and properties will be more at risk than the environment.

斯泰倫博斯大學森林和木材科學系的科爾特·蓋爾登胡斯教授說，由于氣候干燥，人們和財產(chǎn)將比環(huán)境更危險。

"We should be very concerned about this because you have many natural areas in Cape Town that are very dry and a lot of fynbos in certain areas."

“我們應該非常關注這一點，因為開普敦有很多自然區(qū)域非常干燥，在某些地區(qū)有很多FYNBO。”

"As the fire risks increase, our built environments are put in more danger. The Betty's Bay and Knysna fires of 2017 are key examples of the damage forest fires can do to the built environment."

“隨著火災風險的增加，我們的建筑環(huán)境處于更危險的境地。2017年貝蒂灣和Knysna大火是森林大火對建筑環(huán)境造成破壞的關鍵例子。”

Schmidt suggests that urban residents who live within five kilometres of wildland or natural areas need to become more fire-wise.

施密特建議，居住在距荒地或自然區(qū)5公里范圍內的城市居民需要變得更加明智。

"Creating defensible spaces around homes is critical. And this includes managing landscaping so as to reduce fuel load, keeping trees away from a house, planting fire-wise plants, keeping gutters clean, keeping flammable material away from a house, having nearby water sources and avoiding having thatch roofs. People also need to be far more careful with braais and equipment that can cause sparks.” Schmidt added.

“在房屋周圍建立防御空間至關重要。這包括管理景觀，以減少燃料負荷，保持樹木遠離房屋，種植防火植物，保持排水溝清潔，保持易燃材料遠離房屋，附近有水源，避免茅草屋頂。施密特還說：“人們還需要對布雷斯和能產(chǎn)生火花的設備更加小心。”

She said firefighting services and organisations and voluntary teams were well-equipped and well-trained to fight fires, however, their capacity was very much dependent on the size of the fires.

她說，消防部門、組織和志愿隊裝備精良，訓練有素，能夠撲滅火災，但他們的能力在很大程度上取決于火災規(guī)模。

"As we have seen with some of the big fires, local crews sometimes have to be supplemented with crews from elsewhere in the country."

“正如我們在一些大火災中看到的那樣，當?shù)氐木仍藛T有時必須依賴來自國內其他地方的救援人員的補充。”

"Local residents living in the wildland urban interface are likely less well-prepared, if prepared at all, to deal with fires.” she said.

她說：“居住在荒地和城市交界處的當?shù)鼐用瘢赡軠蕚洳蛔?，當然如果準備好了，那就去處理火災吧?rdquo;