SCANDINAVIA ON FIRE


“Only dead fish follow the stream.” – Swedish proverb

Scandinavia is burning. Like much of Europe, this summer has brought record-breaking high temperatures and sustained drought.  The result has been extensive outbreaks of brush and forest fires, some stretching over large swaths of land in the relatively small countries of Scandinavia. A couple of people who have lived in the U.S. compare it to California fires. While not nearly as large in area as many of the California fires, and certainly not of the current fires there, the fires in Scandinavia are at least as impactful because of how much smaller the region is and because they do not have the equipment or training to deal with it. They are bringing in crews and equipment from other countries, but it is a struggle.

Areas that are usually green are brown. The populace, accustomed to cool temperatures in the summer, is sweltering, as air conditioning is virtually unheard-of here. There is not enough grass for the livestock to feed, so they are being slaughtered, creating a glut on the market for meat and leaving farmers uncertain about the future. This is happening in all the Scandinavian countries, though in Norway it is limited to the southern part of the country. The north has no fires, but until a few days ago was also suffering drought. And it did rain in Copenhagen while we were there, but it was the first rain since May 24, and came in the form of quick, intense thunderstorms. Unfortunately, most of the water from that type of rain evaporates quickly before it can be absorbed. What Denmark needs is three days of sustained, steady rain to begin recovery.

This all seems unfair to this region, which has abandoned fossil fuels to a large extent, moving instead to wind and water power and shifting from motor transportation to bicycles in the more urban regions in a very big way. So while one of the world’s highest consumers of fossil fuels has pulled out of climate accords, some of the lowest consumers are feeling the effects of climate change.


A weather station along the coast of Sweden


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