As Turkey struggled to contain forest fires over the past week, people asked how so many blazes could start at the same time.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said on Monday that all but seven of 132 fires over the past five days were extinguished. The flames claimed the lives of eight people.
Although news outlets focused on scenes in the mountains behind Turkey’s Mediterranean holiday resorts, fires have raged in 32 of 81 provinces, including south-eastern inland areas.
Speculation has focused on arson in some cases, with claims that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party was involved in setting fires.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to give credence to such claims on Saturday, when he indicated the group could be behind “sabotage”, but there appears to be little supporting evidence for that assertion.
There has been one arrest in Milas, Mugla province linked to a fire, while another was blamed on two boys burning books on forest land in nearby Marmaris.
Strong winds, dry ground conditions and higher-than-average temperatures are a more mundane explanation for the outbreaks, scientists said.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to look for other causes,” said Umit Sahin, climate change co-ordinator at Sabanci University’s Istanbul Policy Centre.
“Although if you’re asking ‘Is the perpetrator human?’ then the perpetrator is definitely human because the perpetrator of the climate crisis is human.”
“Research shows that more than 80 per cent of forest fires in Turkey are caused by human action," Mr Sahin said. "Incorrect zoning decisions, incorrect tourism policies, all of these are very important. Given all this, I think it’s a mistake to think of forest fires as something very unusual in this heat and drought.”
Countries around the Mediterranean regularly experience summer bushfires, but the number in Turkey this year has been greater than usual. On Monday, forecasters spoke of temperatures 5ºC to 8ºC above the seasonal average along the west and south coasts.
“In the winter and spring, there is a long drought and the vegetation dries up. Then comes a big heatwave in summer, and temperatures rise to 35º to 40ºor even higher,” Dr Sahin said.
“After reaching a certain point, fires break out at the same time and in the same region as if someone had ignited a spark. But this isn’t something that needs to be started deliberately. The only reason is suitable conditions created by the climate crisis.”
Firat Cukurcayir, president of Turkey’s Chamber of Meteorological Engineers, said the “blow-dryer effect” – warm, dry air rushing down from the mountains that lie behind Turkey’s coastline – was a significant contributing factor.
“Wind is always a negative criterion for forest fires, even under normal conditions,” he said.
Dr Cukurcayir agreed that climate change was “laying the groundwork for weather events” and creating perfect conditions for forest fires.
If you’re asking ‘Is the perpetrator human?’ then the perpetrator is definitely human because the perpetrator of the climate crisis is human
Umit Sahin,
Sabanci University’s Istanbul Policy Centre
He also said that people were the “biggest factor” in forest fires, as discarded cigarette ends or broken glass could ignite dry vegetation.
Officials from Gundogmus in Antalya province said sparks from a high-voltage electricity cable had started a fire near the town.
Sukru Durmus, president of the Agriculture and Forests Trades’ Union, said electricity lines could be responsible for fires.
“As a result of power lines hanging due to the heat, it’s possible they swing with the wind, hitting something and causing sparks that turn into a fire,” he said.
“We’ve been through this before but no one’s talking about it because there would have to be a lot of compensation.”
Others pointed out that the fires only received attention because of the large number occurring at once.
“There were fires last week, two weeks and three weeks ago but we didn’t hear much about them because we were able to extinguish them quickly,” said Cagatay Tavsanoglu, an ecologist at Ankara’s Hacettepe University.
“But this week there are such meteorological conditions and, combined with the heatwave, these fires became very severe.”
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Results
3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).
3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.
5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Windows
Release Date: April 10
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
