[url]https://www.wri.org/insights/global-trends-forest-fires[/url]
The latest data confirms what we've long feared: Forest fires are becoming more widespread and destructive around the globe.
Using data from researchers at the University of Maryland, recently updated to cover the years 2001-2024, we calculated that forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago.1
Climate Change Is Making Fires Worse
Climate change is one of the major drivers behind increasing fire activity. Extreme heat waves are already 5 times more likely ([url]https://www.npr.org/2021/11/08/1052198840/1-5-degrees-warming-climate-change[/url]) today than they were 150 years ago and are expected to become even more frequent as the planet continues to warm. Hotter temperatures dry out the landscape ([url]https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/08/climate-change-and-droughts-whats-the-connection/[/url]) and help create the perfect environment ([url]https://www.edf.org/climate/heres-how-climate-change-affects-wildfires[/url]) for larger, more frequent forest fires.
When forests burn, they release carbon that is stored in the trunks, branches and leaves of trees, as well as carbon stored underground in the soil. As forest fires become larger and happen more often, they emit more carbon, further exacerbating climate change and contributing to more fires as part of a "fire-climate feedback loop."
? Rising Temperatures Are Fueling Fires in Boreal Forests
More than 60% of all fire-related tree cover loss between 2001 and 2024 occurred in boreal regions ([url]http://ibfra.org/about-boreal-forests/[/url]). Though fire is a natural part ([url]https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/fire-in-ecosystems-boreal-forest.htm[/url]) of how boreal forests function ecologically, fire-related tree cover loss in these areas has risen rapidly, increasing by about 160,100 hectares per year over the last 24 years.
Climate change is the main reason for this. Northern high-latitude regions are warming at a faster rate ([url]https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/[/url]) than the rest of the planet, contributing to longer fire seasons ([url]https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8537[/url]), greater fire frequency and severity ([url]https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2006GL025677[/url]), and larger burned areas in boreal forests.
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The latest data confirms what we've long feared: Forest fires are becoming more widespread and destructive around the globe.
Using data from researchers at the University of Maryland, recently updated to cover the years 2001-2024, we calculated that forest fires now burn more than twice as much tree cover each year as they did two decades ago.1
Climate Change Is Making Fires Worse
Climate change is one of the major drivers behind increasing fire activity. Extreme heat waves are already 5 times more likely ([url]https://www.npr.org/2021/11/08/1052198840/1-5-degrees-warming-climate-change[/url]) today than they were 150 years ago and are expected to become even more frequent as the planet continues to warm. Hotter temperatures dry out the landscape ([url]https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/08/climate-change-and-droughts-whats-the-connection/[/url]) and help create the perfect environment ([url]https://www.edf.org/climate/heres-how-climate-change-affects-wildfires[/url]) for larger, more frequent forest fires.
When forests burn, they release carbon that is stored in the trunks, branches and leaves of trees, as well as carbon stored underground in the soil. As forest fires become larger and happen more often, they emit more carbon, further exacerbating climate change and contributing to more fires as part of a "fire-climate feedback loop."
? Rising Temperatures Are Fueling Fires in Boreal Forests
More than 60% of all fire-related tree cover loss between 2001 and 2024 occurred in boreal regions ([url]http://ibfra.org/about-boreal-forests/[/url]). Though fire is a natural part ([url]https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/fire-in-ecosystems-boreal-forest.htm[/url]) of how boreal forests function ecologically, fire-related tree cover loss in these areas has risen rapidly, increasing by about 160,100 hectares per year over the last 24 years.
Climate change is the main reason for this. Northern high-latitude regions are warming at a faster rate ([url]https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/[/url]) than the rest of the planet, contributing to longer fire seasons ([url]https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8537[/url]), greater fire frequency and severity ([url]https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2006GL025677[/url]), and larger burned areas in boreal forests.
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