Wildfire risk has increased, but we can still influence where and how fires strike

Jul 7, 2022

As the climate warms, droughts are becoming more severe increasing the likelihood of wildfires. Image: Unsplash/Ross Stone

Stefan H Doerr

Professor of Geography and Director of the Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University

Cristina Santín

Investigadora Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Mixto de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Universidad de Oviedo -CSIC

John Abatzoglou

Associate Professor of Engineering, University of California, Merced

Matthew William Jones

NERC Independent Research Fellow in Physical Geography, University of East Anglia

Pep Canadell

Executive Director, CSIRO

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Climate Change

Scientists can measure changes in fire weather (temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind) to rate the level of danger of a wildfire striking. Image: Jones et al. (2022), Author provided/The Conversation

The number of days with extreme wildfire weather have become 54% more frequent at the global level. Image: Jones et al. (2022), Author provided/The Conversation

Climate change is pushing wildfire risk into uncharted territory worldwide. Image: Jones et al. (2022), Author provided/The Conversation

More extreme wildfires burn more vegetation, exacting a heavier toll on ecosystems. Image: Unsplash/Egor Vikhrev

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