to prevent fires, Météo-France launches its “forest weather forecast”

In the middle of the ferns, in the forest of Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne), we can see a burnt plot. For the National Forestry Office (ONF), manager of the forest, it is a perfectly avoidable spring fire. In total, three fires destroyed five hectares out of 22,000. The fire was of human origin, caused by carelessness. “He thinks in good faith that he put it out, that he was reasonable, except that the fire, all below, he continues“, details Virginie Veau, director of the ONF Île-de-France agency.

Raising awareness among walkers

Some forests are more fragile than others. Météo-France has therefore decided to launch its daily fire risk map. There will be four color levels depending on the hazard. The map was drawn up according to five criteria: temperature, rain, air humidity, wind strength and the dryness of the vegetation. A prevention tool that should make it possible to raise the awareness of walkers, who are sometimes numerous. In the forest of Fontainebleau, attendance has increased by 25% in 5 years.