Havana, Apr 6 : A Cuban senior officer predicted that there will be more forest fires because of effects brought by climate change.
"It is predicted that the wildfires will increase in intensity and spread as a result of climate change," said Colonel Manuel Lama Gomez, head of the Cuban Ranger Corps, cited by the official daily Granma on Friday.
Gomez participated in a working meeting chaired by President Miguel Diaz-Canel to assess the state plan for confronting climate change, called "Life Task."
The senior officer said the early warning system for forest fires has been strengthened. Cuba reported over 350 forest fires in 2017, which destroyed 6,000 hectares of land, with losses amounting to more than 27 million US dollars, according to the latest published official figures.
According to the Cuban Ranger Corps, 91 percent of the fires occurred in the critical period from January to May, which is considered the dry season in the Caribbean nation. XINHUA