Half of the French territory in the Indian Ocean burned by forest fires

For almost a month, the French territory of Amsterdam island in the south of the Indian Ocean has been involved in flames.

Located in half Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar, the island has seen ardor in more than 55% of its 54 km2 area.

Amsterdam Island does not have a permanent population, but researchers have been parked there since the 1980s.

Since the fires broke out, 31 people have been evacuated to Réunion Island, closer to Madagascar. And last week, the French authorities launched a mission to control forest fires and evaluate their impact.

The most recent fire was discovered on January 15 by a scientist who investigates the atmosphere.

According to a report from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LCE), it exploded near the Bénédicte de P atra Observatory that monitors greenhouse gases, mercury and aerosols in the atmosphere.

Despite the best efforts of the residents, the fire extended to the Martin-de-Viviès research base. They were evacuated early the next day by a lobster fishing boat, the Austral, who was sailing nearby.

Rémi Chazot, a computer scientist who was based on the island, told the newspaper Le Monde that the group was “incredibly fortunate” that the boat was in the area.

“This boat should have gone a week before, but he had not caught his lobster share. Otherwise, things would have been complicated.”

Since then, the evacuees have been transferred to the meeting, another French territory.

The fire spread along the island of Amsterdam due to dry conditions and strong winds. The island does not have a river and the winds can reach up to 40 km/h (24 mph). It is believed that it has extended partly through the peat swamps network of the island.

Although the full scale of the damage has not yet been evaluated, the satellite images have shown that the solar panels of the island have been affected by the fire, as well as its food and communication lines.

Conservationists have also expressed concern about the impact on wildlife.

Due to its unusual climate, the island is rich in biodiversity, which serves as a reproduction site for southern elephants and sub-antarctic fat seals.

It is home to several species of albatros, including Amsterdam albatros, which reproduces exclusively on the island, and 84% of the world’s yellow nose albatros. A colony of the southern penguin of Rockhopper also lives on the island.

Due to its remoteness and the subsequent lack of pollution, the island is also used to investigate changes in the atmosphere and how this affects the weather.

Evacuation is the first time that atmospheric research is suspended on the island for 45 years.

“It will take time and money to return to normal and this break will mean a great lack of acquisition of data for our research,” said Marc Delotte, director of the LCE mission to the Amsterdam Islands.

“This, of course, is not good news for such an unique location.”

On February 7, a recognition mission navigated aboard a boat of the French Navy.

According to the Department of Territories of the South and Antarctic of France, the mission is composed of four firefighters of the meeting and seven technical personnel, one of which is a doctor.

Instead of turning off the fire, the mission intends to ensure the agreement. They will also aim to discover the cause of fire and how it spreads, as well as restore the energy and water energy of the island.