“The elements of fire, water and air are now turning against us because we are throwing the planet out of balance,” says Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Institute for Climate Impact Research in Potsdam.
2016 was a year of preparation, training and vigilance for @fire, but rather a quiet year in terms of operational queries. How quickly this can change has now been demonstrated by the ongoing
year - and it is not yet over as I write these lines. No matter from which perspective one looks at climate change and argues about its causes:
The effects are there. And call for, among other things, rescue and relief services not only at the national and municipal level, but also at the international level due to the size and scope of the impending disasters.
When the forests in North America, Australia and Southern Europe are burning in the summer and the helpers on the ground are “running on fumes” by August at the latest, where are the international resources that can support the fire brigades and fire fighters on the ground without much friction and without neglecting basic protection at home? We are aware that @fire is not a universal solution here, but one will also look into the areas not yet covered by
countries affected by catastrophic forest fires need to be prepared to provide assistance to other countries and, if necessary, to shift the zone of extensive forest fires.
The same applies to international emergency aid after floods and storms. It may only be a depressing fantasy today, but what would be the consequences if a hurricane of the magnitude of “Irma” were to pass right through France and Germany? Here it is important to prepare - without scaremongering, but also without blinkers - for scenarios that may still be considered unthinkable today.
As a small but very agile aid organisation, we are happy to contribute our share. Less in the form of mass and more in the form of food for thought, the further development of new concepts and the support of existing structures.