Guinness World Records 2018

EARTH

LARGEST WILDFIRE

(CURRENT)

According to Greenpeace, as of Jun 2016 wildfires covered

some 35,000 km² (13,513 sq mi) of Siberia. Recent very

dry weather has exacerbated Siberia’s seasonal wildfires.

Climate change in Russia is almost certainly to blame; from

1976 to 2012, the average temperature rose by more than

twice the global average. Siberia is one of Earth’s most

forested regions, containing great biodiversity and

species such as bears, wolves and golden eagles.

This

Boeing 747-400

drops its load from a

height of just 120–240 m

(393–787 ft), travelling

at around 260 km/h

(160 mph).

FIRST DOCUMENTED FIRE TORNADO

Fire tornados are formed from pyrocumulonimbus clouds

(see right). On 18 Jan 2003, a fire tornado arose in the plume

of the McIntyres Hut fire, part of the Jan 2003 Canberra

fires in Australia. It moved at around 30 km/h (18.6 mph),

measured nearly 0.5 km (0.3 mi) at its base, and was strong

enough to move cars and tear off roofs.

HIGHEST CLOUDS

FORMED BY WILDFIRES

The intense heat from

wildfires can make

weather. The powerful

updrafts of air can carry

water vapour and ash

high into the atmosphere,

creating a type of

cumulus cloud known as

pyrocumulus. These clouds

can reach around 10,000 m

(32,800 ft) in height.

Even more powerful

are pyrocumulonimbus

clouds (above), which can

reach altitudes of around

16,000 m (52,490 ft).

WORST YEAR FOR DESTRUCTION
OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT BY FIRE
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, forest fires that
had been deliberately lit made 1997 the worst year in history
for the devastation of the natural environment. The largest
and most numerous were in Brazil, where they raged along a
1,000-mi (1,600-km) front.
Although the droughts in the
Amazon Basin and South-
east Asia (caused by the El
Niño effect) were partially
to blame for the forest fires,
the deliberate lighting of
fires to clear forest was the
main cause of the disaster.

LARGEST FIREFIGHTING AIRCRAFT

Global SuperTanker Services uses a converted Boeing 747- 400

jumbo jet as an aerial firefighter. The aircraft can transport

74,200 litres (19,601 US gal) of water or fire retardant.

Introduced in 1994, the Mi-26TP is the largest firefighting

helicopter at 33.73 m (110 ft 7 in) long, with a maximum take-

off weight of 56 tonnes (123,459 lb). It can be equipped with

the VSU-15 water drop system – essentially a sack of tough

parachute material that can be lowered into a reservoir and

filled with 15 tonnes (16.5 tons) of water in around 30 sec.

In this picture,

a firefighter

shovels sand on to

encroaching^ fore

st-

fire flames, having

turned a sapling into

a makeshift handle

for his spade.