This Thursday, Colombia asked the member countries of the United Nations for help to
extinguish around thirty forest fires
that are ravaging several regions and
the capital Bogotá
, where the flames are approaching a residential area.
"We are going to ask the United Nations for support. There is a protocol for this, it will be activated today," President Gustavo Petro announced to the media, who had already declared a
"natural disaster" the day before.
The measure allows "budget items that had been approved for other purposes to be transferred to mitigating the problem," the president said.
Petro confirmed that
the United States, Chile, Peru and Canada have already responded positively
to Colombia's calls to contain the flames.
Smoke rises from the slopes of the mountains north of Bogotá.
Photo: AP
A total of 31 fires are active this Thursday in five regions of the country, according to the state National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD).
Four of them are burning in the capital,
where an outbreak on El Cable hill, on the eastern edge of the city,
has spread to a residential area.
"Due to the winds it has gotten closer, but
it is still more than 900 meters from the homes
. We have it monitored (...) If it becomes necessary we will take evacuation measures," said the mayor of Bogotá at the end of the day. Carlos Fernando Galan.
No rain in sight
"Difficult weeks are coming. Today we saw some clouds but
we still don't see any chance of precipitation
," added the city's president.
Clear skies, no signs of rain in sight.
Photo: Reuters
As night fell, smoke enveloped the center of the city of
eight million inhabitants.
Colombia, considered by the UN one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, has faced in recent months
a harsh wave of fires in vital ecosystems
amid
extreme heat and droughts derived from El Niño
, which will last until April, according to the authority. climate Ideam.
"It would be shaping up to be
the hottest January within the historical data we have
," said Ghisliane Echeverry, director of Ideam, which has been keeping records of the country's temperature for 30 years, at a press conference.
Since November 3, when this meteorological phenomenon aggravated by climate change began, 336 forest fires have been recorded in 174 Colombian municipalities.
At least 6,618 hectares of vegetation were devastated, according to the UNGRD.
"At this moment there are 62 municipalities with water stress. That is, where the freshwater capacity has equaled or is below the demand of the population," Petro concluded.
Problems with commercial flights
The smoke from the fires that
have been burning for four days in different parts
of the mountain range that borders Bogotá affected the operation of the El Dorado international airport this Thursday morning.
A total of
138 flights were affected,
including 48 canceled and 16 diverted to other airports, reported the Civil Aeronautics, which later recorded the "normalization" of operations in the largest air terminal in Latin America in cargo volume.
More than 300 firefighters, soldiers, police and volunteer rescuers are working with tanker helicopters and thermal drones this Thursday in Bogotá, according to Galán.
Police helicopters carry water to put out the fires.
Photo: Luis Acosta / AFP
The mayor made a "call for the population around the fire area to wear masks."
An AFP reporter observed dozens of people wearing masks near the affected mountain, from where
a thick column of smoke
is visible from several areas of the city.
"You can feel the smoke a lot. You feel like it's going into your throat," said Blanca Galindo, a 69-year-old fruit juice seller.
Smoke and fire in the Nemocon forest, Colombia.
Photo: Reuters
Some schools
canceled in-person classes and went virtual,
according to the local government.
The Javeriana University, one of the main universities in the country and whose headquarters are near the outbreaks, made the same decision.
Among other measures, the mayor's office recommended
avoiding exercising outdoors, closing windows and leaving wet towels
under doors.
"I'm very worried. My God! It's terrible. (...) When I came here, it was totally cloudy," said Andrea Gómez, a 48-year-old independent worker.
Wild animals such as coatis, owls and other birds have been seen taking shelter in nearby urban areas.
Galán announced that he also contacted the Spanish ambassador to receive additional support.
With information from AFP