New research highlights how the risk of wildfire is rising globally due to climate change – but also, how human actions and policies can play a critical role in regulating regional impacts.
New research highlights how the risk of wildfire is rising globally due to climate change – but also, how human actions and policies can play a critical role in regulating regional impacts.
The study, conducted by an international team of researchers led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, shows that anthropogenic climate change is a ‘push’ factor that enhances the risk of wildfires globally.
Fire weather – the hot dry conditions conducive to wildfires - is increasing under climate change, raising the risk of large wildfires by making landscapes more susceptible to burn more often and more severely. The impacts of climate change on fire risk are predicted to escalate in future, with each added degree bringing enhanced wildfire risk.
Climate models suggest that in some world regions, for example the Mediterranean and Amazonia, the frequency of fire weather conditions in the modern period is unprecedented compared with the recent historic climate, due to human induced global warming of around 1.1°C.
Read more at University of East Anglia
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