New Forest Fires in Colombia

New forest fires have been declared in recent days in Colombia, after a few days of respite. The country has been experiencing a harsh dry season since last November, aggravated since January by the most acute phase of the El Nino phenomenon.

Late on Sunday, a total of 20 fires of varying degrees of severity were still active in the country, according to a report released after a meeting held in the morning hours of Sunday at the Unified Command Post, located in the Crisis Room of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD). It was reported that half of these active fires are in the control phase.

Among the departments most affected by these fires are Antioquia, Bolivar, Boyaca, Cesar, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Santander, Valle and Vichada. These departments have seen significant impacts on their environment, fauna and air quality.

Dry season continues

Despite the rains that began to fall irregularly during February in several areas of the country, the usual dry season for this time of the year continues with extreme harshness, due to high temperatures. After a critical January, February brought a small respite, especially in the first half of the month.

However, fires and the risk of conflagrations in forested areas remain at an extreme high until the end of April, when El Nino is expected to diminish its impact and allow the rainy season to begin.

In a meeting yesterday (Sunday), the Ministry of Environment reported that in the first sixty days of the year, a total of 936 forest fires have been registered, of which 913 have been extinguished.

“Actions have been coordinated to address complex situations such as those we have in the Cienaga de San Silvestre in Barrancabermeja, El Copey in Santafe de Antioquia, as in other municipalities in the country,” said Deputy Minister of Environment Tatiana Roa.

In addition to these actions, 25 soldiers of the Brigade of Military Engineers specialized in fire and disaster intervention are, with the coordination of the Fire Department, attending to the emergency in the Paramo de Siscunsi and also in the municipality of Mongui, department of Boyaca.

Climate crisis in Colombia

It should be noted that the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in November 2023 officially declared the presence of the El Nino Phenomenon in Colombia, indicating the probability of reduced rainfall in the following months in much of the Colombian territory.

With this background, and taking into account the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, on January 27 the Colombian government issued Decree 037 of 2024, by which it declared a National Disaster situation throughout the national territory.

Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, has commented on the climate crisis, affirming that “it is a reality” in Colombia. On social media, the president announced yesterday that “432 municipalities have faced forest fires, 18 suffer droughts and 271 have water shortages. In response, we maintain the permanent national crisis room led by UNGRD and the Ministry of Environment, in coordination with territorial governments, and the support of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Police, who join the actions of Firefighters, Civil Defense and Red Cross.”