site.btaForest Conservation Is an Important Task in Bulgaria's Adaptation to Climate Change

One of the most important tasks in adapting to climate change should be the protection of Bulgaria's forests. This is what physicist Valentin Simeonov said in an interview with BTA. He is adamant that the way to slow down climate change is to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Valentin Simeonov holds a PhD in quantum electronics from St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia and has been working at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) since 1995. In a joint project with MeteoSwiss, the Swiss meteorological service, he developed a specialized Raman lidar (RL) that continuously measures atmospheric humidity, temperature and aerosols. 

Simeonov is also a co-founder of the Climateka.bg platform.

Climate change

Climate models predict an increase in extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, heavy rain, thunderstorms and hailstorms, wildfires, but also heavy snowfall, frosts, etc. "We need to prepare for longer and more serious heat waves, and also for more serious and frequent other extreme events," Simeonov said. 

According to him, the more visible extreme events are only one aspect of climate change. On a global scale, in addition to the rise in the Earth's average surface air temperatures, there is a general warming of the higher atmosphere, of the oceans, as well as a rapid reduction in the areas covered by snow and ice, a sea level rise, a reduction in biodiversity and much more. In short, the Earth's climate mechanism is profoundly disturbed and it is time that we stopped denying the facts, the scientist notes.

Bulgaria is not isolated from the global trends of shifting climatic zones towards the poles and the climate here is expected to gradually become hotter and drier, he says. 

Slowing the change

The short answer to the question of how to slow climate change is a dramatic reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. This is difficult, both technically and socially. Government efforts so far have been woefully inadequate. There has therefore been a steady increase in emissions.

In Bulgaria, several long-term strategies could be developed to seriously reduce emissions, bearing in mind that the main sources of greenhouse gases in the country are energy and transport. For example, there should be a rapid transition of coal and gas-fired power plants to run on hydrogen produced from renewable sources. This would not only stop emissions, but also ensure reliable and efficient storage of renewable energy and reduce air pollution. Another task is the modernisation and development of the rail network to enable the fast and efficient transport of freight and people. The effects, in addition to reducing emissions, will be to decongest the roads and reduce pollution. Both strategies are politically and economically profitable, Simeonov points out.

Adapting  

Adapting to and preparing for the consequences of climate change is also a complex task, because we don’t even know exactly what they will be. In the case of extreme events, it is difficult to predict exactly when and where the event will occur and how severe it will be. However, the trends are for more frequent, stronger and longer lasting extreme events. 

Regarding flooding, there are well-known measures that can be implemented to prevent or reduce the damage from heavy rainfall. These are: cleaning river beds, maintaining dams, sewers, reducing the spaces covered with asphalt and concrete in cities and replacing them with vegetation.

Even if this were done, however, we cannot prevent flooding when the rainfall in 24 hours exceeds that in a year, as has happened in Greece. Heat waves, especially in cities, are also a serious problem for which there is no easy solution. Partial mitigation can be achieved by urban greening, limiting overdevelopment, etc. 

The role of forests

One of the particularly important tasks of adaptation must be the protection of Bulgaria's forests. Forests reduce local warming because they partially absorb and scatter to space another large part of the solar radiation that would otherwise heat the Earth's surface. They also cool themselves and the surrounding space by actively evaporating water. Forests also play an important role in maintaining water balance, reducing the effects of intense rainfall and the likelihood of drought because they help the penetration and retention of rainwater in the soil. 

The first and easier step towards forest conservation is to drastically reduce logging. Replacing firewood with state-subsidised coal is justified even from a climatic point of view. However, protecting forests from fires is considerably more difficult and poses a more serious danger.

Prolonged periods without rainfall and long heat waves create the conditions for massive forest fires. Extinguishing forest blazes is proving challenging even for countries such as the USA, Canada, and France. Awareness and training of the population, early detection of fires by drones and rapid response to extinguish them could compensate to some extent for the lack of modern fire-fighting equipment in this country and would reduce the damage from fires.

What developed countries do

One of the major differences between Bulgaria and other developed countries is the level of public awareness of the causes of climate change, its consequences and mitigation. Unfortunately, the fight against the effects of climate change, even in developed countries, is in its infancy and usually starts in the wake of some extreme event. 

France, Spain, and Portugal have accumulated experience in the prevention, early detection and early suppression of forest fires. In a growing number of countries, urban greening, increasing wetlands and water areas are being applied as an effective method to reduce the effects of heat waves, urban heat islands, and flooding.

What everyone can do

The first thing is for everyone to educate themselves about climate change and its consequences.  Another thing they can do is to participate in protests against overbuilding or the reduction of green spaces.

On an individual level, people can take measures such as improving the insulation of homes, and using geothermal heat pumps to cool and heat them.

The Raman lidar

Lidars (Light Detection and Ranging) also called laser locators, use the scattering of a laser beam in the atmosphere to remotely measure pollutants, including fine particles (aerosols), atmospheric parameters used in meteorology such as humidity, temperature, wind speed and direction, etc. They can be used to measure humidity and air temperature, which are important for meteorological forecasting.

“The Raman lidar, which I developed with my PhD student Todor Dinoev, measures these parameters every 30 minutes, at altitudes up to 12 km. Traditionally, these measurements are made every 12 hours, using weather balloons. More frequent lidar measurements improve short-term forecasts of extreme events such as storms, hailstorms, intense rainfall, etc.” Simeonov explained.

Aerosol layer measurements are used to track the spread of Saharan dust, smoke from forest fires, and volcanic eruptions, among others.

Lidar received an unexpected and important application during the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The lidar provided the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with data on the height and concentration of the ash layer. This data was used by Dimitar Ivanov, who was involved in aviation safety and made recommendations to the aviation authorities. For 15 years, this lidar has been the only one in the world used by a national meteorological service. Attempts to develop similar lidar in Germany and the Netherlands were not successful. The only similar but not fully automatic system is used for climate research by the US Department of Energy.

The construction of a Raman lidar of this type in Bulgaria would improve weather forecasting here and in neighbouring countries, and would receive support from the WMO. 

“For years, I have been looking for interested partners in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and universities, but so far without success,” the scientist said.