The interior minister said today that 2023 will be “even more demanding” than 2022 in the fight against wildfires, stressing that European data indicate that the “high fire risk” will continue to rise.
Speaking to reporters in Guimarães, Braga district, ahead of a meeting with the mayors of the northern region to discuss rural fire prevention and present the European means available for civil protection, José Luis Carneiro remarked that “the goal is even to, in autumn and in winter, preparing for summer.
“As is known and as it is commonly known today, meteorological conditions due to climate change will be felt very intensely. And it is very important that all participants, from parish councils, municipalities, inter-municipal communities, coordination and regional development commissions, can work with central administration bodies, preparing us for what will happen in the summer, we are convinced that in light of the indicators we have even more demanding than in the summer of 2022,” the minister said.
José Luis Carneiro said it was “a trend that has been confirmed throughout the European Union”, based on data provided by the European Union itself.
“With a combination of three factors: temperatures above 30 degrees, humidity below 30% and winds above 60 kilometers per hour, we are at high risk of fire. This 2022, we had a temperature of 47 degrees, humidity below 10% and wind speeds in excess of 60 kilometers per hour. Now in the European context, this level of risk is expected to continue to rise,” the Minister of the Interior stressed.
José Luis Carneiro called for a “collective effort” on the part of the population, local authorities and organizations responsible for relief and firefighting, noting that the Portuguese government is working on a “European front” and a “national front” involving several ministries and organizations.
The official also stressed the importance of this kind of meeting with mayors, the first of five that will take place in the near future across the country.
“These initiatives are of paramount importance. Raising awareness, informing, explaining to citizens what are their duties that need to be carried out in a timely manner regarding cleaning, namely safety lanes, 50 meters around their property, in their homes. But there are also responsibilities of municipalities that must be considered when planning these same cleanings. And then, also to find ways to have resources to support the municipalities in these cleaning efforts,” stressed José Luis Carneiro.
The Minister of the Interior recalled that everyone has their own responsibilities in terms of preventing forest fires.
“So that all citizens know that there are duties assigned, on the one hand, to the owners, there are duties assigned to the volost authorities, to municipalities, namely: to have municipal plans for the protection of forests from the approval and renewal of fires, the approval and renewal of civil protection plans so that, all in cooperation, we can be better prepared for the fire season, when sometimes we feel completely incapable of dealing with such complex problems as challenges are forest fires,” said José Luis Carneiro.
This first meeting in Guimarães brought together representatives of 66 municipalities in the northern region, 37 of which were presidents and 29 councillors.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.