The danger index of the German Weather Service, which takes into account the meteorological elements of air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and total precipitation. calls out the highest level of forest fire danger in parts of Germany for Tuesday and Wednesday.
With the forest fire danger index, the German weather service provides a map that shows where the risk of a forest fire is currently highest. In five hazard levels (from “very low hazard” to “very high hazard”), the areas are shown in different color gradations where the risk of fire in the forest is highest.
NASA map: Shows current forest fires worldwide
All of the world’s fires are shown with frightening accuracy on NASA’s free forest fire map. Once surfed, you can call up all the information on current and already extinguished forest fires all over the world directly in the browser. A red dot on the map represents a fire.
Striking: the hundreds of fires in southern Europe, especially in Greece, Turkey, the Balkans and parts of Italy. Some of the fires in the popular holiday regions are out of control.
Thanks to sophisticated NASA technologies, you can also see information about fires that were extinguished or even controlled years ago from the forest fire map.
What should I do if I discover a forest fire myself?
Walkers who notice a forest fire should immediately alert the fire brigade and only then attempt to extinguish it themselves. That is the advice of Ulrich Cimolino, chairman of the forest fire working group at the German Fire Brigade Association (DFV). When in doubt, the following applies: “It’s better to call the fire brigade more often than once too little”. Nobody who calls for help in good faith would have to fear costs or a complaint.
One challenge here: Often people walking in the forest cannot give a more precise description of their location. But this is important so that the emergency services can move in quickly and start fighting the fire. “There are apps that are geared towards the forest and orientation in emergencies,” says Rainer Städing, honorary spokesman for the Association of German Foresters. The “Help in the forest” app, for example, shows you the nearest rescue point, and the reference code can help rescue workers with their orientation.
If the fire brigade is alerted, you can try to extinguish the fire yourself. “I can do that with water when I have water,” says Ulrich Cimolino. Or you take branches with leaves and try to smother the fire, or trample it down with sturdy shoes. But this is only possible with small fires, if the flames or the burning area are too large, you should get to safety.
(created with DPA content)
Real-time forecasts from the Weather Channel
Weather Channel offers real-time forecasts – exactly for the location from which the user retrieves the information. At peak times, the Weather Channel delivers around 26 billion forecasts a day. Almost 200 million people worldwide already trust the weather service. In addition to airlines, insurance companies and energy companies, Apple also uses data from the Weather Channel.
Note: Like CHIP, The Weather Channel is a subsidiary of BurdaForward.