Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that ignite and spread through vegetation, including forests, grasslands, and brushlands. These fires can be unpredictable and move quickly. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. These two global phenomena are increasingly connected, impacting ecosystems and human populations worldwide.
How Climate Change Fuels Wildfires
Rising global temperatures contribute directly to drier landscapes, making them more susceptible to ignition and rapid fire spread. Warmer temperatures increase moisture evaporation from soil and vegetation, turning them into combustible fuel. This aridity allows fires to ignite more readily and burn with greater intensity.
Extended periods of low precipitation, or droughts, further exacerbate these conditions by reducing vegetation moisture. Plants stressed by lack of water become vulnerable and die, adding to available fuel. This prolonged dryness ensures ample dry material to sustain fire spread.
Earlier snowmelt and reduced snowpack also extend the fire season. Less winter snow means less water for vegetation in spring and summer, leading to drier conditions earlier in the year. This effectively lengthens the fire season by over a month in some regions compared to 35 years ago.
Climate shifts can also alter plant life in an area, potentially leading to more combustible fuel loads. Warmer temperatures contribute to the spread of pests like the mountain pine beetle, which weaken and kill trees, creating more dead vegetation. These changes can make landscapes more vulnerable to severe wildfires.
The Broad Consequences of Worsening Wildfires
Worsening wildfires have widespread consequences, including significant air quality degradation. Smoke plumes carry fine particulate matter and other pollutants that can travel hundreds or thousands of miles, causing respiratory issues, aggravating asthma, and contributing to cardiovascular problems for millions.
Wildfires cause extensive ecosystem disruption, destroying natural habitats and leading to a loss of biodiversity. The intense heat can sterilize soil, making it difficult for new vegetation to grow, and altering nutrient cycles. Fires also impact water quality by increasing runoff and erosion into rivers and reservoirs.
Beyond environmental impacts, worsening wildfires exert considerable economic strain. Property damage, including homes and infrastructure, can be extensive, leading to billions of dollars in losses. Firefighting efforts, emergency response, and long-term recovery costs burden economies.
Communities face direct threats to life and often require mass displacement, causing significant social disruption. The experience of wildfires, including displacement and loss, can also have lasting mental health impacts on affected individuals and communities.
Wildfires as a Climate Change Accelerator
Wildfires contribute to climate change, creating a feedback loop. When vegetation burns, it releases large amounts of stored carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, such as methane and black carbon, into the atmosphere. These emissions add to greenhouse gas concentrations, trapping more heat and further warming the planet. Researchers found that carbon emissions from forest fires globally increased by 60% between 2001 and 2023.
The destruction of forests and other ecosystems by wildfires also reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb CO2. Healthy forests act as natural carbon sinks, meaning they store carbon in their biomass. When these forests burn, this stored carbon is released, and the land’s ability to sequester future carbon is diminished, especially if vegetation cannot regrow to maturity or if new plant life is less efficient at carbon uptake. This loss of carbon sinks amplifies the warming trend.