Given the significant increase in forest fires in the first days of the year, the Government has implemented various measures to mitigate and prevent the spread of this type of emergency.
The Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, warned about the situation and highlighted the importance of collaboration between local authorities and communities.
Till the date, 62 fires have been attended to in the country, of which 58 are liquidated, 1 controlled and 3 active in the departments of Antioquia and Bolívar. There has been a quadrupling in the number of municipalities on alert, reaching a total of 747, of which 495 are on red alert.
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The departments with the highest number of red alerts They are Boyacá with 82 municipalities, Cundinamarca with 78, Santander with 65 and Meta with 24. In these regions, constant monitoring of hot spots is carried out, which has experienced an increase of 44%, mainly in the Orinoquía region.
The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) warns about the risk of high temperatures in January and Februarywhich could affect air quality in the main cities and generate frost in the Bogotá Savannah and municipalities of Boyacá.
The measures implemented by the National Government include the availability of firefighting equipment and aircraft, reinforcement of community brigades, the guarantee of water supply and close coordination with local authorities and communities. The director of IDEAM, Ghisliane Echeverry, highlights the importance of acting preventively in the face of current climatic conditions and rising temperatures.
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