Complex Analysis of Wildfires in Hungary in the Last Decade

Abstract

Wildfires are one of the most common natural disasters in the world, which cause millions of hectares of damage each year. This fact poses a major challenge to the defence sector. Environmental safety problems caused by wildfires affect not only the ecosystem but also all aspects of society. Research on the effects of climate change predicts a more uneven rainfall distribution and rising daily average temperatures in summer and autumn in the Carpathian Basin. The effects of climate change will be indirectly detectable, such as the extension of fire risk periods, the increase in the number of wildfires and their spatial and temporal distribution, and the increase in fire intensity. Changes due to climate change will pose an even greater challenge in the future to the Hungarian authorities, which are responsible for preventing and extinguishing wildfires. One of the purposes of the paper is to define indicators that can be used to compare the number and extent of wildfires each year with the degree of the daily fire risk and the length of periods during which the wildfires occurred. For this, it is necessary to define the concept of the high fire risk days and the endangered areas and parts of the country in the Hungarian climatic conditions. Based on previous statistical studies, the authors will examine the spring and summer fire seasons separately because of the different fuel conditions and the causes of fire ignition. They examine statistical data on wildfires and apply GIS application. Another aim of the research is to find a correlation between the daily fire risk values, the number of wildfires and the burned area. A fire risk-based investigation of the wildfires that have occurred in the last decade can later help in official preparation, annual planning and preparation of forces involved in the prevention and firefighting.