"International weather experts predict that because of the double effect of global warning and El Nino, 2007 will be the warmest year ever and the forest fire prevention situation will be extremely serious," Cao told a news conference.

Climate change could fuel China's forest fires - BEIJING (Reuters) - China could face worse forest fires and be more severely affected by wood-destroying pests this year because of global warning, a senior forestry official said on Wednesday. [Reuters Science]