China's freak snow means wildfires to come

China's freak snow means wildfires to come

The freakish snowstorms which have been sweeping across China since early January have damaged one tenth of the nation's forests. The State Forestry Administration reports that 17.3 million hectares of forests have been affected - an area larger than England.

Trees suffer from the weight of heavy snowfall, which can bend or break branches, and even kill the whole tree, depending on the species and their size.

Research has shown that death by snow and ice can have all sorts of implications for forests, from boosting regrowth to boosting biodiversity (both a result of more light and "vacant" ecological niches).

On the grimmer side of things, they also generate dead plant debris excellent fodder for summertime forest fires. Already, a SFA spokesman has warned that trees killed by the cold weather could lead to fire disasters later this year.

This year's snowstorms have been the worst in 5 decades. The total cost of the damage has yet to be determined. On 31 January, the SFA announced that the storms would cost 16.2 billion yuan (about $2.5 billion) in damaged forests, but the storms have been sustained since then, and more are predicted for this week.

Meteorologists have blamed the weather on La Nina, which warms up Pacific waters off the coasts of Asia. As a result, warm moist air comes in over the land and mixes with cold air from the north, resulting in heavy snow.

Catherine Brahic, online environment reporter New Scientist